Fan Club
by Willow-Bane
Summary: Welcome to Fairy Academy, where everyone is back for a new year of learning and—PFFT! Yeah, right! What's high school without stalkers, fights, rivalries, crushes, lust, violence, and good old-fashioned teen drama? Read to find out! AU / Follows Japanese School Year
1. Chapter 1

**Fan Club**

* * *

Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail

* * *

 **Summary** : Welcome to Fairy Academy, where everyone is back for a new year of learning and—PFFT! Yeah, right! What's high school without stalkers, fights, rivalries, crushes, lust, violence, and good old-fashioned teen drama? Read to find out! AU / Follows Japanese School Year

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

What was the point of the break between the end of the school year and the beginning of the new one? School ended in March and started up again in April. What the hell had happened to the break?

One day, you left school filled with hopes and dreams for the vacation of a lifetime and then _BAM!_ It was gone! In a matter of blinks, it was over. Then you'd be staring at April, stunned and wondering what exactly it was you'd done over the break that made you feel so unfulfilled.

That was the thought process of nearly every student arriving at Fairy Academy early that morning. Or, at least, a variation of it.

Students gathered around the notice board in the front of the school, checking to see what homeroom class they'd landed in. Cherry blossom trees in full bloom surrounded the students, enshrouding everyone in a cloud of pink. It seemed to set the atmosphere as a happy time, a hopeful time, a—

"Lucy, calm down!" exclaimed Erza, watching at how the blonde teen paced back and forth. "I'm sure everything's fine."

"But we haven't heard from Natsu since school let out last term! What if something happened to him?" Lucy wailed.

Gray arrived just in time to hear that. Flamebrain was missing? He felt his heart beat strangely. What was with these strange heart palpitations he had around the pink haired idiot lately?

"Guys!" Levy shouted as she jogged over to them, breathing as if she'd run a marathon. "I just saw Natsu. He's fine."

Gray felt his heartbeat return to normal. So the flamebrain was okay. But it wasn't like he cared or anything. He just couldn't stand the thought of having to find a new rival if the flamebrain was—in fact—missing; it'd be too much trouble. That was it!

"Hey, guys," Natsu announced unsurely as he made his way over to his friends. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry I didn't keep in touch."

"Where the hell have you been?" pressed Erza. So much for her being sure that everything was fine. "We've been worried sick!"

"Sorry," repeated Natsu. "I was asked to help out with the new underclassmen we're getting this year. You know, the ones entering high school? The teachers want them to ease in as soon as possible by doing club activities, so I had to give the rundown of all the athletic clubs. Sorry I didn't keep in touch. I was busy."

"Why the hell did they pick _you_ for that?" asked Gray, eyebrow raised.

Natsu bristled. "I'm good at sports, all right!" he quipped back.

"Says who—"

"I'm just glad you're okay!" interrupted Lucy as she threw herself at Natsu and hugged him tightly.

"Jeez, Lucy. Loosen the grip a little," Natsu stated, chuckling.

"Hiya, lover!"

Natsu suddenly paled. He shoved Lucy away from him as he spun around. His jaw nearly dropped to the ground when he saw his worst nightmare standing before him. "What the hell are you doing here?" he screamed.

A guy with short, spiky blonde hair stood there, a lustful expression on his face. "I couldn't just let my lover leave me," he said as he ran forward and yanked Natsu into a hug. "Isn't that right, lover?"

Gray felt himself twitch involuntarily.

"Get off me!" Natsu shrieked, desperately trying to remove himself from his vice-grip.

"Leave him alone, Sting," announced a new male voice. The others turned to see another person they'd never seen before. He had black hair tied back at the nape of his neck with bangs hanging over one eye, and he appeared quite irritated.

The one hugging Natsu let go. He crossed his arms and huffed as he averted his eyes. "Fine," he ground out.

Natsu glared heatedly at his attacker. "What are you doing here?"

"Um, Natsu? Do you know these people?" Lucy asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. We met over the break," said Natsu with a frown. "All the upperclassmen from the different high schools got together to work with the underclassmen. It was like a semin…seminole…no, seminair…er, semin—"

"Seminar," Gray cut in, agitated.

"That's the word! Seminar! It was like a seminar thing. We met there."

"Please forgive my…friend," started the second male, shooting Natsu's attacker a stern glare. "I'm Rogue, by the way."

"And you are?" inquired Lucy, indicating the one who'd hugged her friend.

"He's crazy ass bitch," Natsu mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Call me Sting," announced the attacker. "But _you_ can call me whatever you want, lover," he said, advancing toward Natsu with a predatory gaze.

Stifling a groan, Natsu pinched the bridge of his nose. He was really going to have to ask his question a third time. "What are you _doing_ here?" he demanded once more.

"We transferred," Sting stated simply as Rogue averted his eyes.

"Why?!"

"Because I couldn't let my lover leave me behind," he sighed in exasperation.

Natsu slapped himself in the face. What did he have to do? Get a fucking restraining order? Well, come to think of it, that might not be such a bad idea.

Gray stared icily at this Sting person. He didn't like him. He made him…feel funny. It was like he loathed his presence more than anything else in the world. Why? Why did he make him feel that way?

And why did he keep putting his grubby, little hands on the flamebrain?!

"Look, lover!" Sting exclaimed as he pointed to the notice board. "We're in the same class!"

"No!" Natsu gasped quietly as his eyes glued to where Sting pointed. 3-A. They were in the same class! But wait! So were the rest of his friends. And Rogue. He wouldn't be left alone with him!

"Now we get to spend the whole year together, lover!"

Natsu bit down on his lip to stop himself from crying out. This was going to be one hell of a year.

* * *

"Good morning, class. I'm Wakaba-sensei and I'll be your homeroom teacher," started a man with thinning hair. "Welcome to 3-A. Since this is your final year of high school, expect it to be hell. You'll have more homework than you'll have time for, and everything is just a pain in the ass, in my honest opinion. I'm glad I'm not in your position, so good luck."

Natsu stared incredulously at Wakaba-sensei as the class grew silent. Was this guy serious? He was a teacher for crying out loud! But he did kind of look like some strange, homeless person who'd been taken in off the streets. And he didn't really seem like he gave a shit either.

"I think I'm forgetting something," added Wakaba-sensei as he tapped his chin in thought.

"The morning assembly?" voiced Rogue as he rose from his seat. "We should probably get going."

"You're right," replied Wakaba-sensei. And that was all he did.

"Uh, should we line up then?" asked Lucy.

"That's a good idea."

Erza clenched her fists in irritation. Why was she stuck with such an imbecile for a teacher? He wasn't taking charge of anything! Well, this would stop today. "Line up and get to the assembly!" she snapped at her classmates, losing her patience.

Students clambered from their seats as they rushed to get in line, heading out into the hallway, and over to the assembly. They weren't about to face the wrath of Erza so early in the morning on the first day of school.

Gray huffed, rolling his eyes as he followed his frightened peers.

"Wake up on the wrong side of the bed, popsicle?" Natsu taunted as they headed out of the classroom.

Before Gray could make a snarky reply, Sting swooped in and grabbed Natsu's arm. "I'll let you wake up on my side of the bed," he said with a wink.

"What the hell? Leave me alone!"

Gray felt his anger eat away at his patience. What the hell was this guy's problem? Couldn't he see that he and the flamebrain were in the middle of something? "Whatever," he mumbled. It wasn't like he cared or anything.

* * *

"Greetings, Fairy Academy! I'm your principal, Makarov-sensei! But feel free to call me Master! Or Makarov! Or just plain old Grandpa!" exclaimed the principal as he launched his warm welcome. He seemed very chipper and optimistic about the new school year.

"What the heck is this guy on?" Natsu muttered under his breath. "How can anyone be this excited about school?"

"I just hope he doesn't start rambling for hours on end like he did last year," said Lucy from behind him. "We missed nearly half our classes that day."

"Not to mention the other teachers snuck out," added Erza. "I'll need to keep my eye on them this time."

"I don't care what anyone says. I'd rather be in class than listen to this old geezer all day," said Gajeel as he groaned.

Makarov-sensei suddenly burst into laughter. "I'm going to make this short. Apparently, I went too long last year and cut into your class time. Forgive me."

"You think?" Natsu sighed. Couldn't they get this over with already?

"Anyway, I hope everyone aspires to the challenges that they will face this year. Life is filled with unexpected experiences. Take advantage of the fact you are young, and live out your high school years with no regrets. Dismissed!"

Gray rose with his class as they headed back to homeroom. No regrets, huh? Did he regret anything in the years he'd been in high school? Sure, he hadn't socialized much, had never joined a club, and had never participated in any of the school events, but would he regret that later on?

Something tugged at his mind as he thought this over. This was his last year of high school. After this, everyone would go their separate ways. And what had he done to make his life here worthwhile?

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Perhaps he should change that.

* * *

When they returned to homeroom, Wakaba-sensei slammed his hands on his desk. Papers fluttered to the floor as his eyes widened. "I remember!"

Everyone paused, unsure if their teacher was having some sort of mental breakdown.

"Remember what?" Lucy inquired cautiously, a hesitant smile on her face.

"We have two new transfer students who have started here today! They're in this class! We should have them introduce themselves!" exclaimed Wakaba-sensei.

Gray's head snapped up. That was right. Those two from this morning; the one who kept hanging all over the flamebrain and the other one. Perhaps he could gain a little more information on them.

"My name is Rogue Cheney," announced one of the newcomers as he rose from his seat. "I just transferred here from Sabertooth Academy, and I hope to get along well with everyone."

"And I'm Sting Eucliffe. I'm also from Sabertooth Academy, and I hope we get along just fine. But for all you girls out there—maybe even a few boys—lay off Natsu! He's mine!" he growled as he narrowed his eyes at any potential rivals.

"Well, thank you for that. The both of you may be seated," said Wakaba-sensei. "And it seems that our little Natsu is quite the ladies' man…or would that be mens' man?"

A thud sounded somewhere in the classroom. Everyone turned, only to spot Natsu slamming his head on his desk repeatedly.

Gray narrowed his eyes at Sting. He felt threatened by him for some reason. And he didn't like the attention he gave to the flamebrain.

"Oh, and another thing," continued Wakaba-sensei. "Gray? Rogue? Since you two are special circumstance students, you'll be allowed to do your core studies in the library since the rest of your classmates are morons."

"Hey! You can't say that! You're a teacher! And we aren't morons!" Natsu snapped.

"Really?" questioned Wakaba-sensei as he crossed his arms. "Why is the sky blue?"

Startled by the question, Natsu scrambled for an answer. "Because it's…because water is blue?"

"Wrong. Would anyone else like to try?"

"Solar radiation sunlight is scattered across the atmosphere by a process called diffused sky radiation. The sky is blue because much more short-wave radiation—or blue light—is scattered across the sky than long-wave radiation—or red light," stated Gray matter-of-factly.

"What are you, a computer?" Natsu snapped.

"It's common knowledge, flamebrain."

"Maybe for a robot!"

"I demand to be asked a question!" Sting exclaimed, raising his hand. "No one calls my lover a moron!"

Wakaba-sensei sighed in exasperation. "Final question. I'll even make it easy. Why do we put salt on sidewalks when it snows?"

"Uh," started Sting, "so…it doesn't taste funny?"

"I take back what I said about you being morons. You people are all imbeciles!" roared Wakaba-sensei. "Why would you even think that?!"

"Adding salt to snow or ice increases the number of molecules on the ground surface and makes it harder for the water to freeze. Salt can even lower freezing temperatures on sidewalks to 15 degrees from 32 degrees," cut in Rogue.

"Correct. There is hope for the future of mankind after all," sighed Wakaba-sensei. "As I said before, special circumstance students. You two will have homeroom here, your core classes in the library, and you will go to a classroom for your electives. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Wakaba-sensei," said Gray and Rogue.

Gray glanced over at Rogue. Did that mean he was nearly as smart as him? That was unusual. Perhaps he'd find out more later on.

"And Rogue? The principal requested your presence, so on the next break, go to his office."

Rogue nodded. He glanced over at Gray. So that was the infamous Gray Fullbuster that Natsu had spoken so often about. Smiling inwardly, he began looking forward to spending some time with him. Things were going to get interesting.

* * *

Natsu was exhausted. And it was only the start of lunch. He kept getting dreamy-eyed stares from many of the girls—guys, too. And it was all because Sting had made some sort of claim on him during his introduction that morning. It was like girls suddenly realized he was a guy, a guy that was available…and being pursued.

Even some of Gray's fangirls had shifted their target from the icy bastard to him! And that terrified him!

"Is everything all right, Natsu?" asked Lucy, noticing the drained expression on her friend's face.

"I think so," he replied slowly. Natsu watched as all of his friends gathered in the hallway. It was going to be great having lunch together.

"Hey, a little Lucy told me you suddenly became hot because the girls are after you now," jeered Loke, making Natsu blush crimson.

"I did _not_ say that!" Lucy immediately protested.

"Lover!"

"Oh, shit!" Natsu freaked and tried hiding behind his friends, yet to no avail. They moved away from him. Damn friends.

"I've been looking everywhere for you! Why'd you run away so fast? I couldn't catch up. Oh, well. At least I'm here now," said Sting, sidling up to Natsu, who looked appalled. When his hand met Natsu's ass, he flipped out.

"Stop touching me, you perverted freak of nature!" he screeched as he jumped out of his reach. "I don't like you like that! Didn't I make that clear before?"

"Aw, but I know you didn't mean it," he said with a smile. "We're going to be together forever."

"Like hell we are!" Natsu exclaimed, looking as if he'd just swallowed lemon juice. What could he do to get him to stop it with these stupid advances? Well, if words didn't cut it, actions would, right?

In a moment of desperation, Natsu grabbed the closest person next to him, which just so happened to be Loke. The teen blanched when he felt Natsu pull him into his arms, his lips coming in contact with his own.

Natsu peeked out of the corner of his eye to look at Sting while he kissed Loke. Sting had a blank expression on his face. Not the reaction Natsu had been hoping for. So he deepened the kiss. Now Sting was starting to get a nosebleed. That was _definitely_ not the reaction he'd been hoping for!

"I can work with a threesome," said Sting as if it wasn't a problem. He sounded a bit too eager.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Natsu snapped, breaking the kiss.

"What? I'm open to experimentation. And if you want to have a threesome, we'll have a threesome," said Sting.

"Threesome?! I don't even want a twosome!"

"Stop sexually harassing students," announced Rogue as he pulled Sting away from Natsu.

"I'm not—what's that thingy on your arm?" Sting asked, pointing to the yellow armband he wore.

"Makarov-sensei put me on the Student Council. I'm the new Vice President," he answered glumly.

"But you're a transfer student."

Rogue shrugged. "Due to my grades and the lack of leadership on the council, he thought it best for someone of my standing to…take charge. I haven't met the other members yet. But Makarov-sensei did seem a bit panicked. So I agreed. It also means I can keep you in check."

"Huh? But I didn't even do anything yet!" shouted Sting when Rogue began dragging him away.

"It's detention for you."

"What? Why?"

"You sexually harassed a student."

"Then why aren't you taking Natsu?"

"As I recall, you touched Natsu inappropriately," stated Rogue.

"But he kissed that weird freak with the sunglasses! Who even wears sunglasses inside?"

"Did he? I must have missed that one," he said as he continued dragging Sting away.

Once they were gone, Loke looked at Natsu. "Why'd you kiss me?" he inquired, still feeling stunned.

Natsu blushed furiously as he brought his attention back to him. "Sorry! I was trying to get him to leave me alone! I thought that maybe if I showed an interest in someone else that he'd back off! But it's only made him more determined!" he yelled as he yanked on his hair.

"Well, let's just go to lunch," Lucy said, trying to calm her unstable friend.

"Yeah. Maybe that's a good idea," Natsu replied calmly. It was slightly unnerving.

Gray watched as the others led Natsu down the hallway and toward the cafeteria. He'd arrived just in time to see Natsu kissing Loke then Rogue dragging Sting away. And then the flamebrain had acted as if the kiss was meaningless. But was it?

Why did that concern him? Why did he feel anxious? Gray desperately tried to shake away all of these strange feelings. The flamebrain couldn't possibly like Loke. He was just using him to deter Sting.

Sting. The name made him cringe. But why? He really needed to figure that out.

* * *

"What are you doing?"

Sting slammed his cell phone down on the school bench, his heart slamming into his chest from hearing Rogue's voice suddenly behind him. What was he? A ninja? An alien? No human could tread that softly.

"Nothing," Sting answered quickly as he stood from the bench. "I'm going head to class now."

As Sting made himself scarce, Rogue sat down on the bench and picked up his friend's phone. He stared curiously at the webpage Sting had left open. Just what was he up to? Apparently, he was going to have to keep a closer eye on his friend. But then again, a night in jail might do him some good.

* * *

 **End Chapter**


	2. Chapter 2

**Fan Club**

* * *

Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail

* * *

 **Author's Note** : I promise! Hilarity ensues!

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

"Sting, please don't do anything illegal," pleaded Rogue as the two of them entered the school that morning.

"I won't."

"Or immoral."

"…I can't make any promises."

"I saw what you had on your phone yesterday. Did you really need to Google how to seduce a man?"

"What? It's not like—oof! Hey! Watch it!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I bump into you?" Gray stated sarcastically, glaring at Sting. He started to believe he hated him more than…than…well, he couldn't think of anything at the moment. But if he could, he knew he'd hate Sting more than it. "A freak like you should stay out of the way of people like me. And you should especially stay away from the flamebrain."

"The who?"

"Natsu," Gray ground out.

Sting's face took on one of horror. "How dare you describe my lover in such a way!"

As the two continued to argue, Rogue couldn't help but look on in interest. Then he smiled. Obviously, Gray hadn't realized his true feelings for Natsu yet. But to pick up on Sting as being his rival, that was something he hadn't counted on. He'd assumed it'd be harder than that. Natsu was in for a surprise.

Sting narrowed his eyes at Gray, matching his glare with one of his own. How dare he demand he leave his lover alone! It was as if he liked him! Sting's eyes widened suddenly as that possibility hit him.

"He's mine, asshole," Sting spat at him.

"No. He is mine," Gray snapped back as he stepped closer to Sting. Then he realized what he'd just said. Why did he say that?

"From this day forward, you and I are romantic rivals!" Sting declared before storming off.

"Romantic…rivals?" he echoed quietly. What were romantic rivals? He was confused. What the hell had just happened?

"Don't worry," said Rogue, only making Gray even more confused. "You'll get there."

Gray stared after Rogue as he walked away. Just what the hell was going on? What had he missed?

* * *

Natsu hurriedly made his way to class, only to bump into someone. He sent them both falling to the floor with books and papers flying everywhere. Putting a hand to his head, Natsu sat up.

"I'm sorry about…that," he trailed off when he saw who it actually was he'd taken out. It was Gray. Could his luck get any worse?

"It's my fault," Gray stated robotically. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"Spacing out, huh?"

"Something like that," replied Gray as he stood. He offered his hand to Natsu, which Natsu took uneasily. Soon, he was yanked upward and nearly fell into Gray.

The scent of pine, so rustic and natural, assaulted Natsu's senses. He could just stand like this and inhale him forever.

Natsu's eyes widened as he realized how his thoughts had turned. This was _Gray_ of all people. Why was he getting weird feelings about Gray? And he suddenly liked smelling him? What was wrong with this picture?

"Bye," said Gray, regaining Natsu's attention.

"Uh, bye." As Natsu watched Gray walk away, he reached down and started picking up his things. That had been the most awkward moment they'd ever shared. Suddenly Natsu's thoughts took a frantic turn. "Someone's gone and replaced Gray with a robot!"

* * *

Sting smirked to himself as he started fixing the tight, leather pants he'd changed into. Good thing it was break, otherwise he might not have been able to get away with it. Admiring himself, he took pleasure in the fact that his pants accentuated his muscle in all the right places. Perfect.

Spotting Natsu at his locker, Sting walked toward him, swaying his hips in a manner he deemed as seductive. When he reached him, Sting dropped his pencil on the floor. It rolled passed his feet.

Natsu looked at him warily. What was he up to now?

"Oops," he said, bending over slowly to pick up the lost pencil. Sting grinned inwardly. Showing off his ass would definitely get him.

Soon, he felt a hand grope his leather-clad bottom. Success! Standing back up, he turned around to face—

"Who the hell are you?" Sting exclaimed, staring—appalled—at the strange teen who'd decided to cop a feel.

He winked at Sting. "I hear you're available," he said, eyeing Sting up and down. Sting just knew he was undressing him in his mind. But there was only one person he wanted to do that! No one felt him up without his permission other than his lover! "So…you wanna find somewhere to be alone?"

Sting reared back his arm and planted his fist in the guy's face. He fell over, clutching a bleeding nose. "Go blow up a doll," he muttered, spinning on his heels and leaving the bloody mess in his wake.

* * *

Today was just getting weirder and weirder. Natsu wanted to skip the rest of school altogether, but he knew that was impossible. It was only the second day back. But having Gray acting strangely and Sting stalking him were grinding on his last nerve of sanity.

He jumped when a hand shot out and reached the doorknob he was about to grab. Looking up, he saw Gray staring at him strangely.

"Go ahead," Gray said, opening the door and beckoning Natsu to enter the classroom.

"Thanks," Natsu mumbled as he zoomed inside and sat in his seat. He nearly had a heart attack when Gray stood in front of his desk and just stared at him. "What're you doing?"

"Thinking."

"Okay," Natsu replied unsurely. It was weird not arguing with Gray. "About what?"

"I'm confused," he admitted.

Well, this conversation wasn't getting anywhere fast. What was with this spaced-out Gray? Did he even realize he was talking out loud? "What're you confused about?"

"What's a romantic rival?" Gray asked him seriously.

"A…romantic…rival?" Natsu repeated as he felt his face heat up. What the hell kind of a question was that? And why was Gray the one asking it?

Gray nodded in response, urging Natsu to continue.

"Uh…why don't you Google it, you asshole?" Natsu blurted. He just wanted the normal Gray back! Was that so much to ask? His sanity was at stake here!

Gray seemed to snap out of it. "Maybe I will!" he snapped back. "Stupid flamebrain!"

Finally. An insult. Things were back to normal.

* * *

Sting grinned lecherously as he crept into the Boys' Locker Room. He'd waited ever so patiently for everyone to leave so he could find his lover's gym locker.

Creeping further into the locker room, he practically dove into an aisle when he heard someone walking toward the showers. Peeking around the corner, he saw his lover—only wearing a towel—heading for said showers.

An idea struck him.

Sting could see Natsu naked!

Grinning like never before, he waited until he heard the water running before making his move. As he pulled out his cell, Sting made sure to set up the camera. The excitement bubbling inside of him was almost too much for him to bear. Slipping into the shower, he stopped himself from jumping his lover by zooming in with his camera instead. But alas, what Sting wanted to see was not facing him.

"Lover!" he cried, making Natsu spin and nearly fall in the shower.

 _Click!_

Natsu's eyes widened.

He didn't.

Sting grinned.

He did.

Hightailing it out of there, Sting ran as if his life depended on it, but Natsu soon caught up to him and tackled him to the ground.

"Give me the phone," he demanded, struggling to get the cell. Well, as least he was wearing a towel.

But Sting wouldn't let this opportunity pass him by. He turned slightly and wrapped his legs around Natsu's waist and held on for all he was worth, still keeping the cell out of his reach. Natsu panted as he fought Sting's grip. Finally, he was able to pin Sting's arms long enough to reach the cell.

"Someone's feeling feisty today," Sting said, leering at him.

Natsu's eyes widened as he realized the position they were in. Yanking the cell out of Sting's hands, he broke from his grasp and stood, smashing the phone on the ground in the process.

"Get out!" he snapped. Sting looked down at his deceased phone. "Get _out_!"

Sting bolted.

But not before he took his lover's towel with him. As he fled the scene of the crime, Sting started thinking. Perhaps he should have put the pictures of himself in his gym locker instead of assaulting him. That probably hadn't earned him any good points.

* * *

"Natsu, are you okay?" Lucy asked as her friend sat down in the cafeteria.

Was he okay? He was only being sexually harassed by someone who was totally obsessed with him. And Gray was acting all strange and robot-like around him as well. Why wouldn't he be okay? He was fucking dandy! "I'm fine," he answered calmly.

"Are you sure?" continued the blonde.

He was about to respond when he saw Sting enter the cafeteria. Oh, no. What was he going to do now? Sting was getting closer…and closer…and veered off to a table near the left.

Releasing his pent up breath, he redirected his attention to his friends and his lunch. "I've been having a rough day."

"Was it that weird guy from before?" asked Loke.

"Yeah."

"What happened with Gray?" Lucy asked suddenly.

Natsu's eyes widened. Had they noticed? "What do you mean? Nothing happened with Gray."

"Then why is he staring at you?" added Loke, pointing in Gray's direction.

When Natsu turned to see, he found Gray staring at him with that strange look on his face once again. Just what the hell was going on? He couldn't take this anymore! "I have no idea," answered Natsu.

Maybe if he ate his lunch, he'd feel better. Yeah. That sounded like a good idea. Picking up his sandwich, he took a bite.

A few minutes later, however, Sting got up from his seat and approached them. Natsu swallowed his food and stared nervously at him. He was about to tell him off before Sting's hand reached for his face.

Natsu gawked in terror as Sting's thumb wiped something off his lips. His shock intensified when he licked the substance—probably leftovers from his sandwich—off his thumb.

"Indirect kiss! Indirect kiss! Indirect kiss!" his friends crowed.

Natsu watched dumbly as Sting walked away.

Gray, on the other hand, glared after him. Why? He still wasn't sure. What was an indirect kiss, anyway? He supposed he had to Google that, too.

* * *

Sting batted his eyes at Natsu for what seemed like the hundredth time. _I can't deal with this anymore_ , Natsu thought to himself. _Why me?_

When he started ignoring him, Sting decided to bring it up a notch. He gave himself the appearance of having an innocent look and when Natsu glanced back at him, he lowered his eyes and put on an embarrassed smile.

Natsu rolled his own eyes and looked back to the front of the class. Yep. Ignoring him was definitely in his best interest.

"Do you need to see the nurse?"

Sting jumped in his seat, realizing Wakaba-sensei was talking to him. "No. Why?"

"I'm just asking because there seems to be something wrong with your face."

"There's nothing wrong with my face! As you can see, I am perfectly fine!" Sting hissed, growing on the verge of hysterical.

* * *

"Why am I here again?" asked Rogue as he stared at Sting, who was currently doing stretching exercises. "And what are you doing?"

"I'm preparing myself for my lover," he answered simply.

"Preparing yourself for what exactly?" Rogue questioned, looking perturbed.

"I saw him go into the bathroom a second ago, so I'm going to wait until he comes back out before I start," Sting replied.

Soon enough, Natsu came out of the bathroom, where he was immediately grabbed by Sting and slammed up against a wall. He was about to attack when he realized who it was. "What the hell do you want now?"

Sting grinned as he started to play some music. Then he started dancing provocatively while singing to _Pour Some Sugar On Me_ by Def Leppard. While he danced to the music, he failed to notice Natsu fleeing.

"Where'd he go?" Sting asked after he turned back around to face where Natsu had once been standing.

"He bolted awhile ago," answered Rogue.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I figured I'd just let you get it out of your system," he replied. "You ready for class?"

Sting dropped his head in defeat. "I guess so."

* * *

School was finally over! Natsu couldn't believe it! He'd made it through the day! He could finally go home in peace!

Scratch that. Gray and Sting were staring each other down at the end of the hall. It looked like they were arguing.

"He's mine, asshole!" screeched Sting, glaring at Gray viciously.

"Leave him alone," growled Gray. "He doesn't even like you."

"He's just playing hard to get."

"He ran away from you!"

"So? What's wrong with that?"

"Everything!" Gray snapped, much to Natsu's surprise. "He is mine so back off!" Gray froze. He'd said it again. Why had he said that?

"Gray?"

Gray's head snapped around to see Natsu staring at him, a look of confusion on his face. Shit. Natsu had heard everything. How was he supposed to explain something he didn't even understand himself?

"Gray?" Natsu repeated.

"What I meant by that was that the flamebrain is mine to pester and annoy. We argue all the time and you keep butting in," Gray said as he came up with an excuse. He turned his attention back to Sting. He hoped it would stall any further questions. "How can I put him back in his place if you keep getting in the way?"

"So it's a pride thing?" Natsu pressed, looking somewhat disappointed.

"Of course," Gray said, locking in his trademark smirk. "If you insult me and this… _person_ gets in the way before I can respond, it's like I've lost. And I can't have that."

Sting narrowed his eyes at Gray. Sure, it sounded like a reasonable answer. But there seemed to be more to it than that. "You guys are like rivals then?" he asked.

"Yes," Gray answered quickly. Too quickly.

"Then what does that make us?" Sting inquired as he crossed his arms.

Gray paused. "Rivals?"

It was Sting's turn to smirk. "I guess I was right about what I said to you earlier about being rivals then, huh?"

What he said to him earlier? What had he—that's right. He'd said romantic rivals. But that wasn't the case. He wasn't even sure what he'd meant by that. "I don't understand."

"We're fighting over Natsu's attention toward us, right? That's kind of what it means. But if you're still at a loss, then you're not worth my energy," taunted Sting. "Come back when you've figured it out."

Natsu watched as that strange look appeared on Gray's face again. Just how had Sting gotten into his head?

* * *

Rogue sighed as he looked at Sting, who currently sat on the wall surrounding the school's courtyard. Something had happened to make him dawdle after school. What? He didn't know.

Sighing once more, Rogue gave in. "Make it quick. I need to get to the Student Council room for a meeting."

"…"

"I take it your seducing didn't go as planned?"

"No!" Sting wailed. "And I didn't count on having any competition either! Even if he doesn't realize it yet!"

Rogue's eyes widened at Sting's perceptiveness. He'd actually noticed? That was surprising. "Have you even confessed to Natsu? Without trying to molest him in the process?"

"Well, no. But there's no fun in it if I just confess to him."

"And what about your competition?"

"Stupid asshole," muttered Sting. "I hadn't counted on a romantic rival. But I don't think he knows he likes Natsu that way…yet. But I can tell."

"I wonder how Natsu would feel about that."

"About what? That asshole liking him?" Sting burst out laughing. "Yeah, I don't think so."

 _You'd be surprised_ , Rogue thought. "If you really care about Natsu, you'll take his feelings into consideration before you do anything rash. Do you understand?"

But Rogue's advice fell on deaf ears. It seemed Sting had already come up with a plan if the sadistic grin on his face was any indication. Things probably weren't looking too good for Natsu right about now.

* * *

 **End Chapter**


	3. Chapter 3

**Fan Club**

* * *

Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail

* * *

 **Author's Note** : Who wants crazy fangirls? I know I do!

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Gray paced back and forth in front of Lyon's room, debating whether or not he should ask his older brother for help. Steeling himself, he knocked on Lyon's door.

"Come in," came his brother's soft reply.

Opening the door, Gray stepped inside and nearly slammed the door shut in angst. His nerves were getting to him. "I need to talk to you about something."

Lyon eyed his brother warily. Gray seemed to be…was embarrassed the right word? His brother was embarrassed! He could see it now! "If it's about the birds and the bees, ask Ultear. I'm not having that conversation with you."

"It's not about that!" Gray snapped, his face only showing a hint of red. "It's about something else!"

"What is it about?"

Gray paused, trying to find the right words. "What's a romantic rival?"

Lyon raised an eyebrow. "You should know the answer to that. You read all those—"

"I know what I read, but that's not the case here!" Gray cut in. ""Why would someone call _me_ their romantic rival?"

Now things were getting interesting. "Wait, someone called you their romantic rival?"

"Yes," Gray seethed as he pulled on his hair. "I don't understand it."

"Does that mean you like someone?" Lyon asked excitedly. "What happened?"

"This…guy who keeps hanging onto Natsu at school called me his romantic rival. And I don't know why."

"Uh, well a rival is one of two or more people striving to reach or obtain something that only one can possess," started Lyon slowly. "Are you guys trying to possess Natsu or something?"

"Look, he said that the flamebrain was his and I corrected him. That was it."

"What did you say exactly?"

"I said the flamebrain was mine," Gray answered quietly.

"And why did you say that?"

"I don't know! Because he just is! But it's not romantic in the least!"

Lyon buried his face in his hands. He couldn't believe it. His brother was stupid. "How do you feel about Natsu?"

"…"

"Okay, how do you feel about this person hanging around Natsu?"

Gray let out a deep sigh. ""Angry, irritated, wary, inpatient, pis—"

"Okay! I get it. You don't like him," interceded Lyon before his brother whipped out a thesaurus to continue. "I think you have to figure out why him being with Natsu makes you feel that way first. Then maybe you'll figure out why he said that."

"Hn. Maybe you're right."

"Of course I'm right," Lyon said with a smirk.

"Oh, one more thing," continued Gray. "What's an indirect kiss?"

Lyon choked on his breath. "Huh? Why do you need to know that? Wait! Did you do that?"

"What? No! That guy did it to the flamebrain."

"Okay, a romantic rival I can deal with. But an indirect kiss? Use the internet. That's what it's there for," said Lyon. How had things gotten so awkward?

"Fine," Gray stated before leaving his brother's room.

Lyon watched him go. When he was gone, he collapsed on his bed, his thoughts drifting to various things.

So his brother was a romantic rival, huh? That was interesting. And it seemed like his brother was interested in Natsu, too. He wondered how long it would take him to realize that for himself.

Well, if things took too long, Lyon could always provide assistance. He was good at things like that.

* * *

"What did you do?" Rogue asked as he took in Sting's pale expression when he dropped his new cell phone.

"Nothing much," he laughed worriedly in response.

"Sting."

"Yes?" he replied as he jumped. Sting never really liked it when Rogue used that tone.

"What did you do?"

"I…I kind of…made an…oops."

"An oops?"

"Yeah…"

"Would you just spit it out already?"

"Okay! Well, uh, I found out Gray has fangirls at school, you know?"

"And?"

"And you know how Natsu got some recent fangirls at school?"

"Only because you declared that he was yours in class and incited some primal defense mechanism in them. Go on." Rogue didn't like where this was going.

"I…uh…made a few calls to some of the girls and asked if they'd help me keep Gray away from Natsu…so that I can have him…for myself."

"Go on."

Sting took a deep breath. "ALL THE GIRLS AT SCHOOL SPLIT UP INTO THREE GROUPS AND THEY ALL WANT TO KILL ME!"

Rogue blinked a few times at his outburst before trying to get clarification. "Would you care to elaborate?"

"The girls at school have divided themselves into three separate fangirl groups, also known as fan clubs," Sting began as if he was giving a lecture. "Fan Club One consists of all the girls obsessed with Gray Fullbuster. You know. The ones who declare their love every two seconds and want to have his baby?"

"I get the idea."

"Fan Club Two consists of all girls—and a few guys—obsessed with Natsu!" he wailed piteously. "They want him for themselves!"

"Are you in this group?"

"Hell no!" he roared. "Natsu is mine! I'm not sharing him with anyone!"

Rogue resisted the urge to literally knock some sense into him. "So what's the last group?"

Being asked this question, a dark aura seemed to surround Sting. "Fan Club Three consists of all the girls obsessed with…well, they're obsessed with getting that asshole and Natsu together! Wait! Where are you going?"

"School. We might want to get there early so you can hide," answered Rogue.

"Hide? Why would I hide?"

"Because Gray, Natsu, and those fangirls are going to come after you, so you should probably lay low for awhile."

"For how long?"

"Until we graduate."

"Okay…HEY!"

* * *

Gray entered school solemnly. There were hardly any people around since it was still early, which meant he would have time to think over what he'd talked about with Lyon this morning.

And all during the previous night, he'd done nothing but think about what Sting had said to him yesterday. He'd just blurted that the flamebrain was his—twice—and Sting had claimed him as his romantic rival. He knew what a romantic rival was; he just didn't know why he'd called him that. What would make him think such a thing?

This brought him to the other thoughts that kept plaguing him. How did he feel about Natsu? How did he feel about Sting wanting Natsu? The second question he was able to answer; it made him angry. But the first question…

Entering the classroom, Gray anxiously took his seat. He stared down at his desk, his hands tracing invisible patterns on its surface. He had to find the answer to that question. If he could, maybe the confusing situation he was in would finally clear up.

"Um, Gray?"

Said teen raised his head, only to come face to…chest with someone wearing a t-shirt…with his own face printed on it; the slogan _Team Gray_ was written beneath it. Lifting his gaze, his eyes came in contact with one of his fangirls. Inwardly groaning, he put a harsh glare on his face and stared at her sternly. "What do you want?" he spat.

"We want to make sure that nothing bad happens to our precious Gray," she said as a bunch of other girls soon surrounded her, all wearing the same damned _Team Gray_ t-shirt.

Knowing full well he was going to regret this, he stood up and faced them. "I strongly suggest that you morons leave me alone."

"I'm afraid we can't do that, Gray," piped up another fangirl.

"We're taking matters into our own hands now," said another.

Gray took a step back. This was _not_ good.

* * *

Natsu arrived at school and briskly made his way up the stairs. He needed to find Gray. He didn't know what the hell was going on between him and Sting, but he really wanted to find out. Those two being at war with each other was bound to leave him trapped in the middle somehow. Couldn't he live out the rest of his time in high school in peace?

He entered homeroom and made toward the desk Gray should have been sitting in. He wasn't there. Well, that was weird. Gray was _always_ here early. Where could he be?

"Natsu?"

Natsu turned around and immediately had to make a double take. "What the hell?" he muttered more to himself than the girl standing before him. Why was she wearing a t-shirt with his face plastered all over it? And why did it say _Team Natsu_? And how the hell had she gotten a picture of him in the first place?

This type of behavior he would have expected from Sting, not some random chick he didn't even know.

"Uh, can I help you?" he started, trying to at least be polite.

She smiled sweetly at him. "What are _you_ doing here so early?"

"I was…looking for Gray. Do you know where he is?" Natsu flinched when the girl suddenly glared at him.

"No!" she screeched.

What the heck was wrong with this chick? "What do you mean no?" he asked, panicking just a bit by her unexpected response.

"Get him!"

Natsu really wished he hadn't come to school today, because when he saw a horde of girls entering the classroom—all wearing _Team Natsu_ t-shirts—he wanted the earth to swallow him whole.

Or these girls. Preferably these girls.

* * *

"Would you let me go already?" Rogue groaned, trying to pry Sting off. As soon as they had gotten to school, he'd latched onto him like a leech. Sting was afraid of fangirls. Who knew?

"We need to stick together," insisted Sting.

"Why? They're after you, not me."

The psycho teen just tightened his grip. "That's why we have to stay together," he whined.

"Let go! It's starting to look like you're groping me."

"I'm not groping you!"

"You're getting pretty close," Rogue snapped, trying to detach Sting from his person. "Please let go? I need to use the bathroom."

"Why didn't you go before we left?"

"Because _someone_ made a Gray voodoo doll last night and kept trying to drown it in the toilet. It's not working anymore thanks to you."

"Oh," Sting replied quietly. "Do you think the voodoo doll worked, though?"

"No," he growled, gripping Sting's wrists before squeezing just right to loosen his grip. "Stay here. I'll be done in a bit."

"But—"

"You'll be fine," said Rogue. "And if you're not here when I come back, then I'll assume you've been kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?" Sting gasped. "You'll come find me, right? Right?"

But Rogue didn't answer. He'd gone into the bathroom.

Looking around him nervously, Sting eagerly awaited his friend's return. But what if he was kidnapped _before_ then?

" _You_."

Sting froze at the coldness present in that one word. Slowly turning around, two words came to mind in response. _Oh, shit!_

* * *

Gray blearily opened his eyes. Where the hell was he? And which one of those girls had hit him from behind?

Getting to his feet, Gray looked around. Was he in a room down in the basement of the school? And if so, where were those crazy fangirls?

Trying to be as quiet as possible, he peered through the dimly lit area. It appeared to be empty, at least for now. Gray listened intently for a minute before determining that the coast was clear. Reaching for the only door in the room, he opened it and slipped out.

Then he ran for dear life.

Who'd have thought his fangirls would have posted guards?

* * *

Natsu felt like he'd just been taken captive by a bunch of savage amazons thirsting for blood. Whose blood, he had absolutely no idea, but it was clear that they were after someone's.

Sure, it might seem like they were good-natured and wanted to protect him from whatever evil might be out there. But did they have to tie his freaking hands behind his back?

Struggling against his bindings, he soon heard high-pitched shrieks from outside the room he was being held prisoner in. That alerted the girls who were with him. And within the blink of an eye, they bolted, chasing after whoever had decided to run past, leaving him all alone.

Finally wriggling himself free from his bonds, Natsu got to his feet and ran toward the door. Chancing a glance, he saw that no one was around. But where on earth was he? Was he even in the school?

"Ah!" Natsu yelped when he felt someone slam into him.

"Natsu?"

"Gray?"

They stared at each other mutely until a feminine shout alerted them into action.

"Quick! This way," Gray hissed, taking Natsu by the wrist and dragging him over to a door. He threw it open and shoved Natsu inside. When they both made it in, he shut the door.

"Oh, yeah! This is a great hiding spot! A supply closet?" Natsu whispered frantically.

"Shut up! They'll hear you," Gray seethed through his teeth.

"Why don't—"

Natsu didn't get a chance to finish what he was saying. Gray cupped his hand over Natsu's mouth and yanked him to his chest. Natsu freaked out by such close contact. And it felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest. He wondered if Gray could feel it.

A sudden commotion outside the closet made the both of them tense. It went on for what seemed like hours. When the commotion ceased, they were able to breathe normally again.

Well, at least Gray was.

Natsu clawed at the hand covering his mouth. When he felt the hand slip away, he let out a shaky sigh. "That was close."

"Yes, it was," replied Gray.

And then they just stood there in the darkened supply closet, unsure of what to do next. Natsu was the first to break the silence. "So, um, do you know where we are?" he asked sheepishly.

"The basement."

"The basement? What basement?"

"The school's."

"Our school has a basement?"

"Yes, our school has a basement!" Gray growled. "And those crazy fangirls kidnapped me!"

"Yeah, that kind of happened to me, too. I was ambushed by fangirls. I didn't even know I _had_ fangirls. They wore weird t-shirts with my picture on them and everything."

"Hm," started Gray as he began to contemplate their situation. "Maybe we should stay here for awhile until things die down."

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream ripped through the air, making their blood run cold. Yep. Staying in the closet sounded like a really good idea. At least, for now.

* * *

Sting tried to scream a second time, but someone shoved a gag into his mouth, silencing him. He desperately struggled against his bonds, but the group of girls who'd taken him hostage and tied him up had done a phenomenal job. Had the situation been different, he might have commended them.

But that wasn't the case right now!

"What should we do with him?" one girl asked, glancing menacingly at Sting.

"Well, we can't keep him down here forever," said another. "I want to see Gray and Natsu together as much as the next person, but I do believe we need to do something about him."

"Let's just dump him in one of the slummier parts of town."

"But he could get hurt."

"At least he'd be out of the way."

Sting tried to gulp, but the gag prevented him from doing so. These girls were more psychotic than he was. And that was saying something! He was definitely in a crap-load of trouble.

 _Boom!_

Everyone shrieked—except Sting—and stared at where the door had once been. It now lay ripped from its hinge, revealing a very ticked off Rogue standing in the doorway.

"What do you think you're doing? You can't just barge in here!" shouted one of the fangirls.

"Don't even _think_ about getting in my face. I am not in the mood," Rogue ground out threateningly. "My irritability has reached its max, so do not mess with me. Now where is Sting?"

Said teen's eyes widened as tears of joy ran down his face. He was being rescued!

"That's none of your business," answered one of the fangirls.

"And what makes you think we have him, anyway?" asked another.

"Oh, please. I would know that scream anywhere," Rogue stated exasperatedly. "Now kindly hand him over before I tear this place apart!"

"He's over there!" blurted a fangirl, who'd been hiding in a far-off corner.

Rogue looked over in the direction she was pointing at and spotted Sting. He stormed over to him, picked him up, and tossed him over his shoulder like a ragdoll before exiting the room with a determined fashion to his every step. When he felt they were far enough away, he dropped Sting to his feet and began untying him.

With the gag finally out of his mouth, Sting began to speak but was cut off by Rogue. "How do you get yourself into these messes?"

"Are you mad at me?" Sting inquired as he cringed slightly, fully expecting his friend to blow up.

"No, but you definitely make my life interesting."

 _Thump!_

Both teens turned toward the sound. It was coming from the door next to them. Hoping that it wasn't another fangirl mob, Rogue yanked the door open. Gray and Natsu came stumbling out of the supply closet.

"Don't tell me you two were dragged down here, too?" Rogue grumbled. After Natsu nodded, Rogue's expression grew furious.

Natsu staggered backward. It was like seeing a male version of a pissed off Erza. But his thoughts were soon interrupted by two fangirl gangs: the Gray horde and the Natsu horde. The third group came along not too far behind them.

"Get away from our—"

"Quiet!" Rogue snapped, pulling off a glare that even Erza couldn't muster. "I will not condone the kidnapping of our students! Let alone tying them up and gagging them! What made any of you think this kind of behavior was acceptable?"

"This doesn't involve you!" one of the fangirls spat. "Team Gray all the way!"

"Team Natsu!"

"Team Gratsu!"

Rogue and the others looked on as the three fan clubs began squabbling amongst themselves. Gray and Natsu slowly began backing away while Sting hid behind them.

"Enough!" Rogue roared. "If you stop fighting for two seconds we might be able to come to an agreement!"

Natsu's eyes widened. Agreement? What kind of agreement? He wasn't going to let them take them hostage again, was he?

"What kind of agreement?" a fangirl asked as they quieted down. Natsu inwardly cheered that she'd asked his question.

Rogue crossed his arms. "If all of you abide by some stipulations, I will allow you to establish your fan clubs as official clubs of the school. I'll see to it that it's done. Are you interested?"

The fangirls looked at each other before speaking up. "What are the conditions?"

"No harm is to come to any of the students. This especially includes Gray Fullbuster, Natsu Dragneel, and Sting Eucliffe. Also, nothing illegal, nothing immoral, and nothing lascivious."

"What does lascivious mean?"

"Lewd," answered Rogue. "Conduct yourselves in a manner much like that of regular club members. And no fighting amongst the other established clubs. If there are issues to be dealt with amongst the clubs, those will be settled during school events, such as the Sports Festival or the Cultural Festival. Is that understood?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Fine. Fill out the appropriate paperwork to establish yourselves as a club and bring it to the Student Council room by the end of the day. Got it?"

They nodded again and dispersed.

"And as for you three," Rogue continued as he rounded on them. "Are you all right? They didn't do anything too extreme, did they?"

"Not really," Natsu admitted. "But are you sure they'll leave us alone after this?"

"No."

Gray narrowed his eyes. "Then why did you allow them to establish themselves as club members?"

Rogue just shrugged. "I figured this would appease all sides for the time being. Rivalries will flare up again sooner or later. But if they settle it during school events, it should work out fine. Unless they drag you guys into the mix as some sort of weird prize or trophy. But we'll deal with that when the time comes."

"How can you be so cavalier about this?" Gray demanded.

"Well, if it bothers you that much, I can always allow you to create the Anti-Fangirl Club. But you'd need at least three members to start off with and a teacher willing to be your supervisor."

"Wait a sec!" Natsu cut in. "Don't the fangirl clubs have to do that, too, then? Get a supervisor and stuff?"

Rogue nodded.

"What teacher would agree to do that? That means if they don't get a supervisor, they'll come after us again!" Natsu cried, tugging on his hair.

"You'd be surprised," Sting said with a nervous laugh. "There are actually quite a few teachers who'd easily side with each of those groups."

Gray pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt an impending headache coming on. He'd never be able to look at his teachers the same way again, now that he knew some might be fantasizing about him.

"That's just creepy," Natsu groaned.

Rogue let out a light laugh. "Come on. Let's get to class. We'll be late."

* * *

Natsu flopped onto his bed when he got home, exhausted from what the day had given him. He'd meant to talk to Gray about his thing with Sting, but all of that had been shot down when those fangirls had popped up.

But Gray and Sting hadn't argued at all today, so maybe things had sorted themselves out somehow. That was a relief. He hadn't really wanted to be caught in the middle of whatever argument they'd had anyway.

So he didn't need to talk to Gray after all. But for some reason, that thought disappointed him more than anything else.

* * *

 **End Chapter**


	4. Chapter 4

**Fan Club**

* * *

Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail

* * *

 **Author's Note** : Who's ready for school spirit? This is Part One.

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

Friday. The greatest day of all seven days of the week. And it was last period, which Gray was immensely grateful for. He wasn't sure if he could handle anymore Fan Club battles breaking out during class. Even Rogue's glares had lost their muster. School needed to end.

And it needed to end now.

"Class, I have an announcement to make," said Wakaba-sensei. "Actually, our class rep has an announcement to make. Rogue?"

"I don't understand," started Rogue as he stood and headed toward the front of the class. "I'm already Vice President. I shouldn't be class rep, too."

"You really expect anyone else in this class to handle all of the responsibilities that come with being a class representative?" inquired Wakaba-sensei. Rogue gave him a blank look. "That's what I thought. Deal with it."

Rogue groaned. "Fine," he mumbled. "Well, Makarov-sensei decided that we should have a Spirit Week, which will occur next week. The Student Council took his ideas for this event under careful consideration.

"However, since the current Student Council President—Cana—is a complete and utter moron, she gave her seal of approval before anything could be looked over properly. So next week will definitely not go as planned. I'm warning you now. Things will—beyond a doubt—get out of hand and chaos will ensue."

"I think I'm rubbing off on you," Wakaba-sensei muttered.

"Anyway, I have a handout that lists the days for Spirit Week and what the requirements are," he said as he passed them out. "There will be lunchtime special events that will only be announced at the start of each lunch period. Participation is optional. And there aren't really any restrictions."

The class blinked at Rogue. Normally, the only people who would dress up for this sort of thing were the members of the Student Council. They were obliged to do so; they were the Student Council.

Gray scoffed at the idea of dressing up for this Spirit Week event. He wouldn't be caught dead dressing up in some stupid outfit.

"And if you're thinking of not dressing up, there's a catch," Rogue stated, giving them all a glare. "If you'll look at the little footnote at the bottom of your handout, you'll see that it's mandatory to dress up. Dressing up for each day of Spirit Week will be worth twenty-five percent of this term's grade."

"But this has no educational value!" blurted Gray, looking furious. Even if he got A's on everything, not dressing up would give him straight C's! "Why was this approved?"

"You can thank President Cana for that," Rogue snapped. "I'm never letting my eyes off of that idiot again."

Gray clenched his jaw shut. Then he had no other choice. He had to dress up with the rest of them or his grades would suffer!

Suddenly, something smacked him in the back of the head. Turning around in his seat, he glared at the perpetrator. "What the hell do you want?" he hissed.

"So touchy," Sting taunted as he smirked back at him. "I propose a challenge."

"And what makes you think I'd accept a challenge from someone like you?"

"Because I'm bored, Spirit Week sounds like fun, and I hear that you never back down from a challenge. Your pride won't allow it."

Gray twitched. "I'm listening."

Sting grinned. "I think we should use this Spirit Week as an opportunity to express our rivalry! We dress up and see who wears it best. Want in?"

It was Gray's turn to smirk. "Fine."

* * *

Gray stared at the sheet of paper in his hands that listed the days of Spirit Week. His mind began mulling over the events that had led to this moment; he wasn't really sure how he felt about it.

One, he would be embarrassed to no end. Two, he didn't have a choice in the matter. Three, he never backed down from a challenge.

Well, he had decided to live the rest of his high school days with no regrets, but still. Why did things have to turn out this way?

And why had he agreed to that stupid challenge? What was he supposed to wear for something like this?

Desperate times called for desperate measures. And now was a desperate time.

"Ultear!"

* * *

"I know it's Pajama Day, but I don't think you're allowed to go to school dressed like that," commented Rogue as he took in Sting's appearance.

"Why not? There are no restrictions. It says so on that paper thingy you handed out last week," he replied, straightening his outfit as they approached the school.

"Can you even consider those pajamas?"

Sting glared at him, hands on his hips. "It's sleepwear!" he insisted.

 _More like slutwear_ , Rogue thought. "But—"

"No! I'm going all out to seduce Natsu! And if that means wearing transparent, mesh underwear, then I'm wearing transparent, mesh underwear!"

"Whatever. And what did you say to Gray?" asked Rogue.

"Huh? Why?" Sting responded. He'd forgotten all about him.

"He's glaring at you." Rogue pointed behind him. "Take a look."

Sting felt his jaw come unhinged when he saw Gray. He looked…hot. And that was a lot coming from him!

His hair was mussed up boyishly as if he had just gotten out of bed. He wore a loose white tank top that exposed his collarbone, and he had on a pair of pajama pants that hung low on his hips, revealing just a little bit of skin to entice any onlookers.

And he was coming his way.

"I thought we were supposed to see who wore it best, not who wore it sleaziest," Gray started as he sneered at him. "What are you trying to do?"

Sting bristled. "I'm trying to seduce Natsu!"

"And you think that will work?"

"Why wouldn't it?" he retaliated.

"Have you ever heard the expression 'less is more'?"

"Yeah. Why do you think I'm wearing this?"

"That's not what that means!"

"Hey, guys. What's…up?" Natsu paused when he noticed Gray and Sting glaring at each other. Apparently, their heated animosity toward each other wasn't finished yet. But should he step in or what?

He turned to face Rogue so that he could get his insight on the situation, but burst out laughing instead. "You have enough frogs on you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rogue snapped. He was sporting a light blue long-sleeved top with a cartoon frog on the front, pajama pants with the same cartoon frog on them, frog slippers, and he was holding a stuffed frog.

"Nothing," Natsu snorted, which only earned him a smack in the face with the frog plushie. "All right. Don't start," he teased.

"Then stop making fun of me. I like frogs, okay?"

Sting and Gray halted their rant, their attention drifting toward Rogue and Natsu. Sting nearly choked while Gray felt his brain fizzle out. Natsu wore a snug, v-cut muscle tee with a pair of shorts and sneakers. The clothing hugged his body, showing off his toned physique.

Gray's heart began beating erratically as he felt heat flood his cheeks. He knew what this type of feeling meant, but it couldn't be possible, right? Swallowing thickly, the strange thought swirling in his mind began eating away at his remaining resistance.

There was no denying it anymore. He was attracted to the stupid flamebrain.

"Ha!" Natsu cried, finally managing to snatch the frog plushie and running off with it.

"Give it back!" Rogue shouted, chasing after him. He promptly tackled him to the ground and pinned him. But it didn't last long.

Natsu flipped Rogue off him, got up, threw him over his shoulder, and started spinning them in a circle. About a minute later, he put Rogue back down on his feet and gave him the plushie. Rogue grabbed the poor stuffed animal and hit Natsu in the arm playfully. They laughed and started heading toward the school.

"Hey! Wait up!" Sting cried as he raced after them.

Gray, on the other hand, remained where he was as he tried to sort his feelings out. Seeing Natsu dressed like that had made him blush, had made his heart beat even faster than ever. That was attraction, wasn't it? Was that the reason he always picked fights with him? For the attention?

"I like…Natsu," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. The realization, much to his surprise, didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. In fact, he felt somewhat relieved. But he also felt upset, depressed even. Why?

 _He hates me_ , Gray thought to himself. _Natsu hates me. He'd never think of me any other way. What do I do? And why does it hurt so much now that I know?_

* * *

"Does anyone know what the lunch activity's supposed to be?" asked Loke as he leaned against the wall of the gym. It had been cleared out for the Pajama Day event.

"I don't know. Maybe they'll make the announcement soon," Lucy replied excitedly.

"Uh, oh," Natsu sighed.

"Huh? What?" responded Loke.

"Looks like he's mad," he continued, pointing out Rogue, who was dragging another student by the collar of her shirt. "Who the heck is that?"

"That's our Student Council President, Cana," said Lucy.

"Again, who?"

"Good afternoon, everyone," Rogue announced at the front of the gym, glaring at the person beside him. She was tall and quite the looker, but there seemed to be a few screws loose somewhere. "The Student Council President would like to say a few words."

"Hey. I'm Cana and…what am I supposed to say again?" she asked as she leaned over to listen to Rogue. "Oh, right. We're gonna have our event start soon and…what was it again?"

"Oh, for the love of—move!" hissed Rogue as he shoved her out of the way. "Today's event will be a pillow fight. But not just any pillow fight. This will play out somewhat like dodge ball. The teams have been decided by President Cana.

"Half of you will be on one side of the gym while the other half will be on the other side. Before you on the floor is a red line. Neither team can pass this line. If you do, you're out. Each side will also have a bunch of small pillows to start out with. Throw them as hard as you can to hit your opponents. If you do, they're out. We'll continue this until there is a winner.

"However, thanks to President Cana, there is no prize for the winner," Rogue continued with a hardened expression. "But there is a penalty for the losers, thanks—again—to President Cana. The losing team will have to run a lap around the track in front of the entire school in their underwear."

"WHAT?" Lucy roared, glaring murderously at the teenage boys around her. They all seemed excited over the prospect of seeing the girls in their underwear.

"I did not approve of this penalty," Rogue seethed. "Now everyone get on your rightful side!"

As everyone split off into the two groups, Natsu huddled up to his friends. "You know they're going kill us, right?"

Gajeel chuckled. "Yeah, I don't think so."

"But they've got Lucy, Erza, Rogue, and Sting on their side!" Natsu rambled. "Rogue and Sting both used to play baseball and Lucy and Erza have good ass aim! Plus, they're pissed! Well, except Sting. He looks kind of excited."

Everyone turned to look at the other side of the gym. Sure enough, Lucy, Erza, and Rogue stood at the front of the group, hands clenching and unclenching as they waited for the event to begin.

Gray stared at the other team, his mind turned upside down. He didn't want to run around the track in his underwear. And he really didn't want to know the consequences of what would happen if Erza and the rest were forced to run around in their underwear. Either way, they were screwed.

"All right, peeps!" announced Cana. "The teachers are the refs, so listen to them and whatever. Let the battle begin!"

 _Whap! Whap!_

Levy and Loke were already out.

 _Whap!_

Gajeel came next.

"Come on guys! Erza and Lucy are girls for crying out loud!" someone shouted.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" snapped Lucy.

"You are going down," added Rogue.

"Prepare to die!" cried Erza.

"Was that really necessary?" inquired Lucy.

"I thought it was funny," said Sting.

Lucy sighed. "Talk later! Take them out!"

About fifteen minutes in and there were only three people on each side. One team had Gray, Natsu, and Cana. The other team had Sting, Lucy, Erza, and Rogue.

"You know, for someone so lazy, Cana's pretty intense on the battlefield," observed Sting.

"She hasn't even thrown a pillow! She's just wandering around!" snapped Rogue.

"Then take her out!"

 _Whap!_

 _Whap!_

"Cana and Lucy are out!" announced Wakaba-sensei.

"You're going down, Gray!" Sting yelled.

"I will not be taken down by the likes of you!" Gray yelled back, tossing a pillow at Sting's face. He failed to dodge it.

"Sting is out!"

Rogue and Erza grabbed a pillow in each hand. "We will not let you win," Erza ground out.

"Oh, yeah?" said Natsu. "Well—ah, shit!"

Erza started laughing. "Did you just realize that Rogue and I have all the pillows? All you can do now is run!" she shouted as she hurled the pillows in each of her hands full force at Gray and Natsu. She nailed them both right in the face.

"Gray and Natsu are out! Erza's team wins!" said Wakaba-sensei.

"Did I forget to mention I'm ambidextrous?" Erza cackled as she sauntered off toward her congratulatory teammates. "Have fun out on the track! It's nippy today!"

"I hate you," Gray snarled as he glared at Cana, who lay on her back on the gym floor; she was staring up at the ceiling.

"Hate's such a strong word, you know?" replied Cana. "Hey, did we win?"

"No, we didn't win!" snapped Natsu. "I don't wanna run in my underwear!"

"Man, that's too bad."

Gray grabbed Cana by the collar and shook her. "How did you become Student Council President?"

Cana shrugged. "Simple. I flashed my tits. Erza didn't stand a chance," she replied.

* * *

"This is humiliating," Gray groaned as he jogged around the track with the rest of his classmates.

"Well, it could be worse," Natsu panted next to him.

 _Don't look, don't look, don't look_ , he said to himself, not wanting to risk what would happen if he saw Natsu in his underwear. "And how could it be worse?"

"It could be raining. We could've been doing this naked. Or—"

"I get it," Gray cut in. "I wonder how bad tomorrow's event will be."

"Knowing how Cana approved of this, you never know."

"This breeze is awesome!" cackled Cana as she jogged past them.

"Why are you naked?" Natsu exclaimed as he averted his eyes.

"Huh? Oh! I went totally commando today. You guys should try it sometime!" she called back as she continued to run. "Freedom!"

* * *

 **End Chapter**


	5. Chapter 5

**Fan Club**

* * *

Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail

* * *

 **Author's Note** : More school spirit! This is Part Two.

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

Sting was very proud of the outfit he'd created for Rock Day. All the other students had gathered in front of the school, eager to see how people were dressed. And it was turning out to be quite exciting.

"It's true!" he heard Gajeel protest. He turned to see Gajeel and Levy squabbling with each other.

"Gajeel, that is not what Rock Day is," insisted Levy.

"If Wikipedia says it, then it's true!" he snapped. "And it said that Rock Day is the day you throw rocks at people."

"You're an idiot," blurted Sting. Gajeel glared at him. "Rock Day is the day for you to make yourself look like a sexy rock star. Like me, for example."

He indicated his outfit. It consisted of a snug, black top that read, _Caution: Sexy When Wet_ , a black pair of tight jeans with red flames and skulls with crossbones on them, and black boots.

"Pfft. You look like a male hooker," stated Gajeel, looking peeved. He felt as if he'd just made a mortal enemy.

"At least it looks like I'll be seeing some action, unlike you!" Sting hissed.

Gajeel was confused by what he meant until he saw the look on Levy's face.

Sting smiled triumphantly when Gajeel began begging and pleading with Levy. He'd won that one. Now, all he had to do was—

"You're wearing that?"

He nearly flinched at the sound of Gray's voice. _Please don't let him look hotter than me_ , he pleaded in his mind. Turning around, his jaw nearly dropped. This was Gray Fullbuster?

Gray had been gorgeous before, but today he was smoking hot! His hair had been gelled and spiked somewhat, giving him that bad boy look. A tight, dark blue muscle shirt clung to him like a second skin, showing off every muscle that flexed beneath it. White, fingerless gloves covered his hands, accentuating the formfitting white pants he wore, which had a pair of black leather belts hanging loosely around his waist. And the whole outfit was complete with a pair of black buckled boots.

"How do you do that?" Sting exclaimed.

"Do what?"

"Make yourself look sexy!" he accused, pointing at him in shock.

"I'm just emphasizing what I already have. Unlike you, I've always been sexy." And he wasn't going to let him know that it was actually his older sister who'd been helping him out.

"You're a real jerk, you know that?"

"Only to my rivals," he replied without thinking.

Sting narrowed his eyes. "Does that mean you're admitting something?"

Gray blanched. "I've admitted nothing!" he insisted.

"You realized it, didn't you?" Sting shrieked.

"I didn't—"

"Realized what?" Natsu asked suddenly, announcing his presence.

"That he—"

Gray clasped his hand over Sting's mouth. "Nothing. We were…" His voice trailed off as he took in Natsu's appearance.

Natsu wore a close-fitting crimson t-shirt and a belted choker around his neck, as well as something similar on both wrists. His pants were black—and all leather—which drew the eyes of any onlookers to his shapely form. Matching boots complemented the outfit.

His hotness scale was off the charts.

Gray flung his hand away from Sting's mouth when he started feeling him drool; the guy had no class.

"Rogue?" Sting suddenly screeched, noticing the arrival of his friend. He couldn't believe it! His friend had made himself look sexy! Rogue _never_ tried to make himself look sexy; he didn't like drawing attention to himself. So seeing him dressed like that almost gave him a heart attack.

Rogue seemed a tad withdrawn, as if he wasn't too confident about how he was dressed. But he wasn't hiding to the point where no one could make out his outfit.

There were purple highlights in his hair, giving him that rocker look. He even wore a dark purple sleeveless shirt, along with a pair of belted wristbands. Rogue also wore a formfitting pair of black and gray plaid pants. A belt hung at his hips—also black—and snug boots that finished his ensemble.

Sting didn't know if he wanted to cover him up or encourage him. He didn't know if he wanted to be overprotective or supportive. Either way, Sting felt he should keep an eye on him.

Rogue had always been shy, while Sting had always been so outgoing. It had been strange how they'd hit off a friendship, and after getting Rogue to open up some, Sting had come to realize that he was a really good friend.

And now that he'd come out of his shell a little bit, Sting felt he couldn't be more proud of him. It seemed being on the Student Council and meeting new people had done wonders for him.

"You're so sexy today!" Sting announced as he bounded over to his friend, practically pouncing on him as he gave Rogue a hug.

"Um…thanks?" he replied, blushing a little.

"Hey, can we expect anything extreme for today's event?" asked Natsu, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Yesterday was kind of embarrassing."

Rogue left Sting's embrace to reply. "Today's definitely not as bad as yesterday. I don't think you need to be worried about anything. But I guess I can't really make any promises."

Just what the heck was that supposed to mean?

* * *

When lunch started, Gajeel glared at Sting from across the cafeteria. His little altercation with him that morning had deprived him of something really precious for a whole week. A _whole_ week! He was going to make him pay for that one.

"I'm going to teach you a little lesson," said Gajeel, a malicious grin on his face.

* * *

Everyone stared mutely at Makarov-sensei, trying to register what he'd just said. Today's lunchtime activity was Karaoke?

A small stage had been set up in the gym with everything needed to perform. Furthermore, all the songs that could be chosen were already prepared. Perfect. Just perfect.

No one really wanted to hear anyone go up there and screech at the top of their lungs in what they might dub as singing. It was probably a good thing that everyone had finished eating; otherwise, they might have gotten sick to their stomachs with the not-so-in-tune voices.

Makarov-sensei, on the other hand, didn't seem to pick up on the evil vibes the students sent his way. He just continued smiling. "So, do we have any volunteers?"

"Me!" Cana cried animatedly. She jumped onto the stage and quickly picked out a song.

When she began singing, Rogue wanted to cut out her tongue. The song she'd chosen was _We Found Love_ by Rihanna. And though he hadn't been too fond of the song before, he hated it even more now that she'd butchered it.

Sting nudged him. "Would you rather be deaf or have her be mute?" When he received no answer, he nudged him again. "Did you hear me?"

"I heard you."

"Then what's your answer?"

"I'm still trying to decide."

"I thought the choice would be easy," Sting replied.

"On the one hand, I'd never have to hear a thing that came out of her stupid mouth ever again. On the other hand, more people are going to be singing. And probably in the same fashion as her."

"That was wonderful!" cried Makarov-sensei when the song finally ended. "Do we have any more volunteers? Gray! Thank you for volunteering!"

Gray froze. He hadn't volunteered. As soon as he'd heard the word 'Karaoke,' he'd tried to blend in with the crowd. Apparently, that hadn't worked.

Glaring sadistically at Makarov-sensei, Gray forced himself to walk up the steps of the so-called stage, a dangerous aura flowing about him. It only got stronger when Makarov-sensei smiled at him.

"Here," said the man, putting a microphone in his hands. "I've already selected the song."

Gray stared down at the microphone in his hands. He really had to do this? But he'd never sung in front of anyone before. Glancing at the audience, he noticed Sting smirking at him. Meeting his gaze, he decided that he couldn't back down now, especially when Sting was challenging him with his eyes.

He turned back to Makarov-sensei. "What song?"

" _I'm Sexy and I Know It_ by LMFAO," he answered with a smile as he started playing the song.

Gray's eyes widened. "No! Absolutely not! I refuse to sing such a—"

 _Smack!_

Gray watched as a cup of applesauce slid down his face and hit the floor. A loud 'boo' sounded from the audience.

 _Sting_.

Not thinking about what he was doing, Gray jumped off the stage and charged him. But he halted in his steps when he saw Gajeel approach Sting from behind.

"AAHH!" Sting screamed when he felt the bucket of ice water drench his entire body. He spun around to identify his attacker, looking very much like a soaked, manic kitten. ""You!"

Gajeel grinned. His mission, however slight, had been a success. "Nope. Still not sexy," he cackled.

Sting was confused until he remembered what his shirt said. "You asshole! I'm going to kill you!" he raged as he pounced on him.

"FOOD FIGHT!" Cana yelled, spurring everyone into a food throwing frenzy.

"Cana, you moron!" Rogue shouted as he got pelted with food. "Stop it right now! Stop making a mess!"

"Why is he so ticked?" Loke asked as he lightly elbowed Natsu.

Natsu shrugged. "He's on the Student Council, so I guess it's their responsibility to clean it up. But with how the rest of the members are, it might just be him doing all the work."

"Hm." Loke watched as Rogue suddenly left.

And returned with a hose.

"Oh, crap!" he hissed when Rogue hosed everyone down.

"Enough!" he yelled. "Out! This event is officially over!"

"Party pooper," someone spat.

"You ruin all the fun," said another as the students exited the area.

When everyone was gone, Rogue surveyed the damage. The stage was splattered with mashed potatoes, the Karaoke machine was destroyed thanks to some people tossing their sodas at it, and the floors and walls were caked with food. There were even remnants sliding down the windows and dropping from the ceiling.

"Ah, there you are," said Makarov-sensei. "I take it that you and the rest of the council will handle the mess then?"

Rogue forced a smile on his face. "Of course."

"Good, good," he replied as he left.

But Rogue knew that wasn't true. The other council members were too lazy and had undoubtedly ditched him by now. He'd have to do everything himself.

* * *

Rogue turned the corner of the hallway. He just changed into his gym clothes so that he could clean the disastrous mess left by his classmates. But he wasn't really paying attention to where he was going until he collided into something.

Or rather, someone. They flew to the floor, Rogue landing on top.

He'd closed his eyes when he felt himself falling. And when the sensation stopped, he opened his eyes and saw a familiar pair eyes staring back at him.

"I'm sorry," he said, getting off the person he'd landed on. They rose to their feet simultaneously.

"It's okay," replied the victim of his clumsiness. Natsu looked quite embarrassed. "I wasn't really looking where I was going either."

"Oh. I'll be going now."

"Uh, wait!"

"Hm?"

"Uh, so have you been doing Student Council stuff?"

"Yes. And I need to get back to it," Rogue said as he tried to leave again.

"Huh? Why? It's already after five," replied Natsu. "Club activities should be over by now."

Rogue sighed tiredly. "I'm still cleaning. I'm only halfway done."

"Wait, are you doing it by yourself?" Rogue nodded. "Where's the rest of the council?"

"Home, probably." He shrugged his shoulders and started heading away.

"I'll help you," said Natsu as he jogged to catch up with him. Rogue stared at him for a few seconds before nodding in acceptance.

Once they reached their destination, they began cleaning.

"So what made you decide to hose everyone down?" Natsu asked as he peeled bologna off the windows.

"I thought it would be the quickest way to get everyone to stop," he replied solemnly. "I already knew I'd have to clean up and handle the expenses for any damages using Student Council funds, so I thought it best to end it sooner rather than later. But that's going to backfire on me."

"How so?"

Rogue gave him a bitter smile. "You'll see," he replied softly. "Thank you for coming to help me."

"It's no problem. I'm happy to do it."

* * *

 **End Chapter**


	6. Chapter 6

**Fan Club**

* * *

Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail

* * *

 **Author's Note** : And more school spirit! This is Part Three.

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

"Um…Erza? Are you okay?" Lucy asked hesitantly when she saw her disheveled friend shaking like a leaf. She was currently wearing a toga and gripping something white in her hands; it was Myth Day, after all. "Erza?"

"Have you seen Cana?" Erza blurted, looking ready to snap at any minute.

"No. Why?"

Lucy's answer was the white material being thrust into her face. "I need to find her before—"

High pitched screams stopped her words. Both Erza and Lucy turned to see what had caused the screams, only to witness a bunch of guys fainting from nosebleeds. When the dust settled around their unconscious forms, they could finally see what had caused such a commotion.

There stood Cana—in all her naked glory—hands on her hips as she stood proudly in front of the school.

Lucy's eyes widened, but her vision was suddenly obscured by a hand; Mirajane had covered her eyes. "What is she doing?" she hissed.

"Cana!" Erza yelled. "I demand you put this on!"

"Why do I have to put that on? It's Myth Day, isn't it?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you are allowed to wander around naked!"

"Why not? That's how they did it back in the day. It was quite common for people to walk around naked in those days," Cana argued.

"We are not back in those days! Now put this on!" Erza demanded.

"Fine," she finally conceded as she put on the offered toga.

"I MISSED IT?!" Sting shouted, staring—appalled—at Cana and Erza after someone had told him that Cana had been parading around the school naked…again. Apparently, his pervy senses were a bit off today. Normally he wouldn't miss something like that.

But for now, he needed to entice Natsu. Being dressed as a hot, male version of a Valkyrie was bound to get him some attention.

His outfit included a toga featuring a crimson top with gleaming gold metallic screen-print, and arm gauntlets trimmed with faux fur and gold ribbon. There was even an attached satiny gold cape featuring faux fur trim, an intricately designed horned vinyl headpiece, and a gold chain with a ruby charm.

He even had a sword! Which he planned on beating the crap out of Gajeel with later, but that was beside the point.

"Hey, hot stuff."

Sting glanced off to the side and felt himself freeze. "Rogue? What—is that you?"

Rogue burst out laughing at his friend's expression. "Yes, it's me."

"Why are you dressed as…Medusa?" What was with the gender-bent costumes?

"Because I couldn't find anything with frogs."

Rogue wore a dark green stretch knit top and pants with gold foil snake print, embellished trim and gold ring detail, a draping veil gold snake headpiece, gold arm bands, and an adjustable snake wrap necklace.

"It looks good on you," Sting admitted with a smile.

Rogue grinned back. "Thank you."

"Hey! Did you guys hear Cana went around school naked again?" announced Natsu as he came up beside Rogue.

"Yes! And I missed it!" Sting exclaimed, looking peeved.

It was then Natsu noticed the sword around his waist. Great. He could already imagine him challenging him to a swordfight for a date already.

"But I don't mind seeing you instead, lover," continued Sting as he started drooling over him.

Natsu took a subconscious step backward, his costume rustling as he did so. Perhaps being dressed as he was hadn't been such a good idea. His outfit consisted of a deluxe brown tunic, molded chest armor, gauntlets, shin guards, and a sword. Natsu looked like your typical Greek hero.

And while Sting continued to have perverted daydreams, he became oblivious to the fact that Gray had arrived. At least until he nudged him out of the way so that he could stand next to Natsu.

"Watch…it?" Sting started as he took in Gray's appearance.

He wore a bright white toga, a dark colored drape, a decorative gold chest plate, arm guards with lightning bolt symbols, and a gold crown. Was he supposed to be Zeus? Because if he was, then he was the hottest Zeus he had ever seen.

Sting watched in definite awe while Gray stood next to Natsu. Two totally hot guys decked out in totally hot and masculine costumes was totally hot—no! No! What was he thinking? He did not just think that! He did not just think about the two of them being flush up against each other, letting their costumes drop to the floor as they—

NO! DIRTY MIND! DIRTY, TRAITOROUS MIND!

Why was he thinking these things? What was he, King of the Hentai? That was just wrong on so many levels! But then, why did the thought of it seem so hot?

WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HIM?

Noticing that Sting had disappeared inside himself, Gray and Rogue decided to take their leave. Once Sting came to, they didn't want to be around to see what he did. At the moment, he looked quite unstable.

"Hey, Rogue! Wait up!" Natsu cried, waving him down as he caught up to them; he'd been spaced out still thinking about what Sting would use the sword for.

Rogue paused in his steps so that Natsu could catch his breath. "Natsu. Oh, um, thanks for yesterday."

Natsu laughed and fiddled with his hair. "It was no problem. I actually thought yesterday was kind of fun."

Sting seemed to snap out of it then. "Huh? Yesterday? What happened yesterday?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah, what happened yesterday?" asked Gray as he stared hard at Natsu. "You didn't do anything weird, did you?"

"What? No! I just helped Rouge out with the cleaning! We cleaned up!" Natsu explained.

"Wait, so you really had to clean all that up?"

Rogue nodded. "It was the Student Council's responsibility to clean it up, but the rest of them ditched me. Natsu offered to help me, so we spent the afternoon cleaning up."

"You should have asked for help. We would've come to lend a hand," said Gray.

"I figured everyone would have been busy. I didn't want to be a bother to anyone," he said with a shrug.

"You should know by now that you're not bothering anybody. We're all friends, right?" added Sting as he hugged him from behind.

"Yes, we're all friends." _But I really don't want to be a burden._ He glanced over at Natsu. "Um…about what I asked yesterday?" he started unsurely.

Natsu smiled. "I'll still do it. I don't mind."

* * *

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Rogue and Natsu tossed the final garbage bags into the dumpster, dusting their hands off and stretching._

 _"Looks like we're finally done," started Natsu. "You want to get something to eat? My treat."_

 _"I guess so," replied Rogue. When Natsu started to walk away, his hand shot out to catch his wrist. "Wait. Can I…talk to you about something?"_

 _He stopped and turned to face him again. "Sure. What's up?"_

 _"Um…do you think the rest of the school hates me for what I did today?"_

 _"You mean when you hosed us down? Sure, some of them might be a bit miffed, but I don't think they'd hate you for it. It was actually kind of fun."_

 _Rogue didn't seem appeased. "But…"_

 _"Did something happen?" he asked, growing concerned._

 _"Sort of," he began. "When everyone started to leave, some guys threw insults at me. And after school someone wrote…vulgar comments on my locker. I was able to get it off before anyone could see, but I'm just afraid something worse will happen."_

 _"Do you know who it might have been?"_

 _Rogue shook his head. "I'm new here. I don't really know anyone other than you, your friends, and the Student Council members."_

 _"Maybe it was just a heat of the moment thing."_

 _"Maybe. But it doesn't really feel that way. You didn't see the looks," he said as his voice trailed off. "Do you think—just for tomorrow—you could walk to class with me? I'm afraid of what else might happen."_

 _Natsu was surprised to hear this. "Yeah, I can if you really want. But why not ask Sting?"_

 _"He's…a bit preoccupied for the time being. And I don't want to be a burden to him."_

 _"You should really believe in your friends a bit more," he suggested. "But I'll watch out for you if that's what you really want."_

 _"Thank you."_

 _ **End Flashback**_

* * *

"Hey!" Sting shouted, trying to get Rogue's attention. "Don't mind doing what?"

"Just," Natsu started, but he was cut off when Rogue yelped in surprise. "What the hell, you jerks?" Natsu shouted as he made to run after them.

"Don't," Rogue gasped, stopping him in his tracks. He looked down at his clothes, which were now covered in splotches of paint; he'd been pelted with paint-filled water balloons.

"But they—"

"I know what they did," he cut in. "But I don't want you getting in trouble over this."

"Well, we need to do something," stated Gray. "I know who they are. I'll report them."

"No. Don't," insisted Rogue. "They'll think I'm flaunting my authority as a member of the Student Council. Then it'll just get worse."

"That's just too damn bad," said Sting as he put his hands on his hips. "We're going to report those assholes whether you like it or not. I know why you're saying this; you're not a burden. We're your friends and we care about you. Your problem is our problem. And I won't stand by while my best friend is being attacked by delinquents."

"And you should report the other thing, too," added Natsu.

"Other thing? What other thing?" asked Sting. "Did something else happen?"

"Someone vandalized his locker," he continued. "Rogue cleaned it up before anyone could see it."

"I don't understand why someone would do any of this," Gray said.

"People didn't like it when I put a stop to the food fight yesterday. Everything was my responsibility, so I ended it before it could get worse. And this happened," explained Rogue.

Gray frowned. "Here's what's going to happen. I will report the students responsible for this, Sting will help you get cleaned up, and the flamebrain will kick anyone's ass who gets in the way. Got it? Good."

"He doesn't leave much room for argument, does he?" voiced Sting as Gray headed off.

"Hey, what am I supposed to do? Guard the locker room?" Natsu questioned.

Sting winked at him. "You could always join us."

"Pass," deadpanned Natsu. "Let's go find Lucy. Her friend Virgo probably has something you can change into; she always has clothes hanging around somewhere."

* * *

Natsu was seriously starting to doubt the competency of Cana. But not only her; Makarov-sensei as well. No one in their right mind would have approved this.

WHAT KIND OF ADULTS ALLOWED HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO HAVE BATTLES IN A GLADIATOR ARENA?

Okay, so maybe it wasn't really a gladiator arena. But it was pretty damn close. They were using the soccer field so that they could fight with swords. Yeah.

"This is how it's going to work," announced Rogue. "We will have a gladiatorial battle designed as a tournament. Eight contestants will compete, and there will only be one winner. Makarov-sensei has already selected the participants.

"When your name is called, you will head to the locker room and change into your gladiator battle armor, pick up your sword—mind you, they are plastic—and head back to the arena to fight.

"Once the fight begins, you either have to be the last one standing or knock your opponent out of the arena. There are markings on the ground to indicate that."

Makarov-sensei then stepped forward, prepared to announce the participants. "The first round will consist of four matches. The first match will be Gray versus Loke."

Gray's eyes actually lit up. This was going to be fun.

"The second match will be Sting versus Gajeel."

"Yes!" he cried. "You're going down!"

"We'll see about that!" Gajeel snapped back.

"The third match will be Natsu versus Cana."

"Why do I have to face the psychopath?" Natsu exclaimed.

"And the fourth match will be Erza versus Lucy."

Makarov-sensei cleared his throat. "Everyone get changed, and return to the arena!"

After some time, the contestants returned. They were dressed in costume gladiator armor, complete with helmets and hefty looking plastic swords. Gray and Loke were the first to enter the arena.

"I must warn you, Gray. I am trained in the art of swordplay," said Loke, brandishing his weapon skillfully.

Gray took a deep breath, pulled back his sword, and smacked his opponent in the head. Loke's helmet spun, and it completely blocked his vision. "Yes, I can see that," Gray scoffed.

"Wait!" came Loke's muffled cry as he struggled with the helmet. "I can't see!"

"War waits for no one," he stated as he lunged at Loke. He smacked him in the head again with the sword as he relentlessly beat him into submission.

"Stop! Halt! Ow! Cease and desist! Ack! I call for a truce!" Loke yelled as he tried to duck and weave while his sight was obscured, but Gray refused to ease up. "Have mercy, Gray! Lucy, make him stop! AAH!"

"And that," Gray said finally as he put away his sword, "was for stealing my only pair of leather pants." He turned on his heel and left the arena while Loke twitched on the ground; he had finally been defeated.

"You've really got some issues to work out, huh?" taunted Sting.

"Shut up," Gray spat right back at him.

Huffing, Sting entered the arena and narrowed his eyes at his opponent, Gajeel. He smirked at him as he tossed his sword back and forth between his hands.

"I've been waiting for you," he said. "Are you ready to—ucgh!" Gajeel crumpled to the floor in pain. Sting had kicked him in the groin.

"Maybe next time, jerk."

"Ergh, I hate that little bitch!" Gajeel cried as he sobbed in the middle of the arena.

"Remind me not to get on his bad side," Natsu mumbled as he wandered into the arena while a few students helped Gajeel wobble away.

"This is going to be fun," said Cana, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. But before the match could really get underway, a helmet flew into the arena and hit her in the chest. "What the hell?"

"Stay away from my lover!" Sting jeered.

Cana gripped her sword and stormed off in his direction, not stopping until she was nose to nose with him. "You dare—"

"Looks like you lost to Natsu," Sting said, cutting her off.

"Huh?"

"You left the arena. You technically lost by forfeit."

"What? No! I demand a rematch!" declared Cana.

"No rematches," said Erza as she entered the arena. "It's time for me to face Lucy."

"Why me?" cried Lucy. "Wait! Where are we going?" Lucy asked as Erza started pushing her. She kept doing so until Lucy was standing on the outside of the arena. "Why'd you do that?"

"I could never raise a sword to you," replied Erza.

Tears came to Lucy's eyes due to happiness. "I'll make sure to buy you a piece of strawberry cake after this!"

"I guess that means we're up," said Sting as he glared at Gray. They entered the arena at the same time. "There's no way you'll be able to beat me."

"We'll just see about that," Gray retorted.

Sting stared at Gray for about a minute before he started grinning. Throwing his sword at Gray, he barely had time to react before Sting lunged at him, tackling him to the ground. And when he felt his hands slide down toward his nether regions, he flipped.

Shoving Sting off himself, he scrambled to his feet and fled the arena. When he felt he was in safe territory, he turned around and glared at him, his hands hovering over his behind protectively.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Gray shouted.

Sting just smirked. "I won, didn't I?" he replied. "And I guess this means whoever wins the next round will be facing me."

Erza and Natsu glanced at each other before heading into the arena. Sting was in the finals, which meant that whoever won here would face him. And after his little episode with Gray…

May the better man lose?

Once the round began, both Natsu and Erza seemed to have the same idea; they bolted for the edge of the arena. Natsu, however, grabbed onto the hem of Erza's pants and yanked her to the ground so that he could make a break for it.

But Erza had other plans. She took her sword and threw it between Natsu's legs, tripping him. Natsu fell flat on his face, giving Erza the time she needed to leave the arena and lose.

"Looks like you'll be the one facing Sting," she panted.

 _No!_ Natsu thought frantically. _I don't want to be molested!_

Gradually, he stood up in the arena and awaited Sting. When he arrived, he brandished his sword as he took a few steps back away from him.

But before Sting could do a thing, he screamed bloody murder. "WHY IS IT ALWAYS WATER?"

Spinning on his heel, he seethed at his attackers—Gajeel, Cana, and Gray—all of whom had thrown buckets of water on him. Trembling with rage, he waved his sword at them threateningly. "Prepare to die!" he screamed as he ran full force at them.

As the chaos ensued, Natsu collapsed in the arena. He had been saved. Thank goodness for people with bad judgments.

* * *

 **End Chapter**


	7. Chapter 7

**Fan Club**

* * *

Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail

* * *

 **Author's Note** : And even more school spirit! This is Part Four.

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

"We're here, little bro," announced Lyon as he pulled up to the school. But it didn't appear that Gray had heard him. He was too frozen in place.

Nervous eyes peeked out the window of the car, eyeing all the students scampering about in Gothic clothing with trepidation. He looked down at himself and mentally groaned. Why did it have to be Goth Day?

In the beginning, he hadn't even known what Goth was. And after a very elaborate description from Lyon—how he knew in the first place was beyond him—his brother had decided on this very outfit himself. Lyon had said it was a Victorian Vampire costume, but they'd altered it somewhat so that he didn't actually resemble the stereotypical vampire.

Gray wore a silver and black vest with attached white sleeves, silver chain trimmings, a dickey with an attached cravat, and a cape. All in all, he was embarrassed. Lyon had said he looked good, but Gray begged to differ.

Well, there was only one way to find out.

Stepping out of the car, Gray slammed the door shut and took a few steps toward the school. When several girls swooned as he passed them, he figured Lyon had been right. But he wasn't too sure if that was a good thing or not.

"I have to admit, you actually look pretty good today," said Sting, crossing his arms as he glared at Gray.

"I could say the same about you, but then I'd be lying," Gray retorted with his signature smirk. That comment got him frazzled.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a bastard?" he snapped.

"Yes, but not nearly as many times as you've been called an asshole, I'm sure." He was getting a real kick out of this. Maybe if he pissed him off enough, he'd leave him alone. "Are you sure your costume is appropriate for today?"

"Huh?" responded Sting, sounding confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, if you're trying to get Natsu's attention, don't you think he might get the wrong message based on what you're wearing?"

What was wrong with what he was wearing? He looked down at himself. Sting wore a black widow themed top, matching pants, satin gloves, a head and eye band, and a necklace. If anything, he looked pretty damned sexy.

"That fact that you're passing yourself off as a black widow will more than likely turn Natsu off."

"What do you mean?"

"In actuality, after a black widow mates, she kills her partner. Just what kind of message are you trying to send him?" inquired Gray. When realization dawned in his eyes, Gray knew he'd won.

"You're lying to me!" he declared, pointing at him accusingly.

"He's not lying, Sting. It's true," stated Rogue as he approached them with Natsu in tow.

Rogue wore a short sleeve zip-up jacket with a bare midriff and tails. The jacket was purple with a rose design and featured a high crushed velvet collar. There was also a pair of black pants hanging just off his hips, and the bottom was trimmed in the same material as the jacket.

"Sting?" Rogue called, waving a hand in front of his face. Glancing over at Gray, it looked as if he was in the same frozen position his friend was currently in. And the reason seemed to be over Natsu.

Natsu wore a midnight black coat with a high satin collar and built-in cape with matching pants. The coat featured seven gothic-styled buttons in the front and three on each cuff. But the part of his outfit that seemed to be so distracting was the fact that Natsu wasn't wearing a shirt underneath his coat; in fact, his chest was exposed all the way down to his navel.

Gray swallowed convulsively. There was definitely no way he could deny his feelings now. He really was attracted to Natsu. Sexually! He just wanted to grab him and…molest him! What the hell was he thinking? He was getting as bad as Sting!

"Hi," said Gray. His head was spinning. All that thinking and that was the best he could come up with? What was wrong with him?

His chest. It had to be Natsu's chest. He just wanted to touch it!

Gray sighed. What was he going to do? Natsu looked at him as an rival. Nothing more, nothing less. How could he change Natsu's perception of him? He needed help.

But was there really anyone to ask?

* * *

There were so many squeals erupting from the girls outside that it sounded as if they were standing in the middle of a pig farm. The day's lunch activity was the reason behind all of that.

It was at this point in time that Gray wanted to slaughter whoever had come up with this idea. It had to be Cana. No one else would have come up with a Demonic Tunnel of Love. It seemed to be a cross between your typical Haunted House and a Tunnel of Love. Who thought up things like this?

"They're splitting everyone up into two lines," started Natsu. "I guess they'll be sending everyone in as pairs. I don't think I can do this."

"Why not?" asked Gray, looking interested.

"I don't do creepy stuff. I'm not stepping one foot in there."

"It's not mandatory to go inside. I suppose I can wait out here with you until your friends have had their fun."

"Huh? Don't you want to go in?"

Gray narrowed his gaze and frowned. "And get stuck with one of those fangirls? No, thank you."

Natsu laughed. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

* * *

"No!" Sting cried. He was pissed. He didn't want to stand in line and then suddenly get paired off with some random person for the Demonic Tunnel of Love. He wanted to be paired with Natsu. He was afraid of all things haunted, so it would have been the perfect opportunity to get in some free groping.

"Why am I here again?" Rogue asked.

"Because if I have to be here without my lover, then you have to be here, too. And you're the Vice President."

"The first part doesn't even make sense."

"It does in my head."

"Whatever," Rogue sighed. "It looks like you're up next."

Sting groaned and trudged over to the entrance of the Demonic Tunnel of Love. Who was he being paired up with, anyway?

"Why does it have to be you?" Gray exclaimed, his jaw dropping. Curse those stupid fangirls for shoving him and Natsu into the line!

Sting raised an eyebrow. Well, it could have been worse. "What do you mean by that?"

"Why do I have to be stuck with a pervert like you?" he shouted.

"I'm not a pervert!" he yelled.

"Yeah, right."

"Although, if you want me to be, I can. And I'll show you, too," he ground out, his expression becoming serious. Gray bolted for the Demonic Tunnel of Love, Sting right on his heels.

"It's our turn now."

Rogue turned his head to see Natsu smiling at him. He had to go with Natsu? Nodding, they both made their way down the darkened entryway.

"So…do you like these kinds of things?" asked Natsu.

"What? Creepy stuff? Yeah, I guess so. But the stuff in here is far from creepy," he said as they walked by what looked like a skeleton bride and groom. "Shouldn't a place like this be scarier? I mean, it would literally have people jump into each other's arms if it was."

Natsu chuckled. "Is that your way of saying you want to be held?"

"No. But you're going to."

"Huh?" The teen turned around to see what Rogue meant and came face to face with a demonic looking clown that suddenly swooped down at them. "Holy shit!" he screeched as he jumped away from it.

"Let me know when you're ready to let go," Rogue said with an amused grin.

"What? Oh!" Natsu then realized he'd latched himself onto him after running away from the damned clown. "I'm sorry!" he insisted frantically, immediately releasing his grip on him.

Rogue laughed lightly in response. "It's fine. You're such a scaredy-cat."

"I am not scared," Natsu stated defiantly.

"You're just like Sting."

He was about to protest when they suddenly heard a high-pitched scream coming from deeper within the tunnel. Natsu's hand lashed out and grabbed Rogue's, subconsciously seeking comfort. Rogue looked down at their hands curiously before giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"As I said. Scaredy-cat."

Natsu fidgeted. "Just don't tell anyone," he whispered.

"Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me. Now let's go save Gray. I'm pretty sure that was him we heard screaming."

* * *

Things weren't looking so well for Sting. Or Gray for that matter. He was currently being restrained by a set of chains on the wall inside of the Demonic Tunnel of Love. And Sting was chained to him in a way that definitely made it appear inappropriate.

Hence the scream he gave earlier.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" Sting roared as he glared at Gajeel, who just smile back at him. He stepped closer so that they could see him better.

"I'm getting my revenge," he said.

"Revenge? Revenge for what?"

"For yesterday!" Gajeel growled.

"That's what this is about? But you guys got me back yesterday! You dumped water on me, remember?"

Gajeel crossed his arms. "I'm afraid a kick to the family jewels warrants no mercy."

"You asshole!" he screeched.

"What's going on?"

"Rogue!" Sting exclaimed, happiness clearly evident on his face. "Help me!"

Natsu and Rogue approached the scene with a mixture of amusement and disinterest. "How do you even get yourself into these messes?"

"I don't do it on purpose!"

"Keep them here for about fifteen more minutes then let them go," said Rogue as he dragged a gaping Natsu alongside him down the tunnel. "See you later, Sting!"

"What?" he screeched. "Unchain me, damn it! You traitor!"

* * *

Gray sighed in relief when he finally made it away from Sting. Soon, he spotted Natsu and approached him cautiously.

Gray fiddled with his hands as he stood next to Natsu, waiting for everyone else to return from the Demonic Tunnel of Love. He glanced over at him and found Natsu staring at him intently. "What?"

"It's nothing," Natsu replied quickly, averting his gaze.

"Seriously, what?"

"Um. It's just that I didn't think you'd actually do this stuff," Natsu started unsurely. "All the dressing up and participating in lunch activities? I never thought you'd do stuff like that. I figured you'd fight everything tooth and nail."

Gray took a deep breath as if contemplating his words. He wanted to make sure whatever he said next would earn him some kind of brownie points with Natsu. He needed to change his image around him. "I decided that since this is our last year of high school that I'd…have no regrets. Even if that meant doing things I wouldn't normally do. Everyone will go their separate ways after this school year ends and…"

"And you want to make memories or something?" Natsu questioned. At Gray's sharp nod, Natsu smiled. "It took you long enough. And who knew you could be so sappy."

"I'm not sappy!"

Natsu chuckled. "Sure you aren't."

"I'm not!"

* * *

 **End Chapter**


	8. Chapter 8

**Fan Club**

* * *

Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail

* * *

 **Author's Note** : And even _more_ school spirit! This is Part Five and the last of the school spirit set. Forgive my brain here. I caught a cold. Which may be the reason for the chaotic nonsense and my OC Rei.

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

"I can't believe I let Sting choose my outfit," Rogue stated unhappily, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It's not that bad," Natsu said, trying to appease him.

"Not that bad? I look like a fairytale stripper!" he screeched. "I can't believe I'm wearing this!" Why, oh why, had he let Sting pick his costume for Fairytale Day?

"It's fine," he insisted.

Rogue glared at him. "At least you're covered!"

Natsu was dressed as none other than Robin Hood. He wore a hat with a feather, a loose fitting white shirt, a brown leather vest, a capelet with a lace-up front, a belt with a large gold buckle, brown leather pants, and brown boots.

Rogue, on the other hand, was a little more underdressed. However, it wasn't his fault. Because of Student Council duties, he hadn't had time to pick out an outfit for today, so he'd asked Sting to do the honors. And boy, had that been a mistake. He was never letting Sting get away with making comments about his "feminine features" as he called it, ever again.

All in all, Rogue was Little Bo Peep. Sort of. More like Hooker Bo Peep. He wore a cropped sexy blue top, complete with matching mini skirt and bonnet, white thigh highs, and black heels. In his hand he held a white shepherd's crook. Little Bo Peep had never been so sexy.

"Come on," Natsu said, trying to get him to join into the fun of it all. "I'll even keep all those Big Bad Wolves away from you."

"This is humiliating," Rogue huffed. "If you let any slip by, I'll bash you in the head with this," he replied, waving the shepherd's crook at him.

* * *

"Well, if it isn't Prince Charming," Sting mocked as Gray approached him. He wore a fully finished garment that included a white military style jacket with attached gold and black epaulets, black slacks with gold stripes going down the sides, a gold jacquard sash, and a military style belt and medal. His jacket was accented with gold colored buttons, a gold color, and cuffs.

"And who do we have here, the Wicked Bitch of the West?" Gray retaliated.

"Prince! I'm the Frog Prince!"

"I beg to differ."

Sting's eye twitch. If he was a bitch then he might as well be a sexy one, especially with what he was wearing today. He wore a black suit with uneven green hem, wide sleeves, thin straps, and a thick belt.

"We need to talk about something," Gray began slowly. His tone seemed to garner Sting's interest. "It's about this romantic rival statement you made before."

"Oh?" he replied, eyebrow raised. "What? Did you finally realize your true feelings for Natsu?" he mocked sarcastically.

"Yes."

"WHAT?" Sting started choking on the breath he'd inhaled. "You mean you actually like him? Like I do?"

Gray wasn't sure how to answer that. "Not exactly like you do. I don't plan on doing the indecent things you've done this past week. But I do sincerely have a romantic interest in him. And that does make us rivals. However, I don't intend to lose to the likes of you."

"That's where you're wrong!" Sting protested. "Natsu doesn't even like you!"

"He doesn't like you, either!"

"Well…at least he talks to me!"

"Only when he's telling you leave him alone. At least I can hold a normal conversation with him!"

"With who?" started Natsu, making himself known. Rogue was standing beside him.

Sting perked up. "Gray li—"

"Nothing!" Gray cut in, giving his rival a threatening glare, silencing him. "It's nothing."

"Okay," Natsu replied, eyeing them strangely.

Suddenly, a whistle caught their attention. "I'd like to be your sheep," announced Loke as he walked by, giving Rogue a wink. He just rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Did he just hit on you?" Sting exclaimed, his attention now diverted from Gray and Natsu. He jumped on Rogue and hugged him. "I'm so happy! Someone hit on you! What are you going to do now?"

"Nothing?" Rogue replied uneasily.

"Huh? Why not? It's obvious he likes you!"

"But I don't think I like him like that. And he probably thinks I'm a girl because of the outfit you made me wear."

"Augh! You can be so impossible sometimes," groaned Sting. "Just give it a chance, will you?"

"But I really don't like him like that," Rogue repeated, quietly this time.

"Whatever," mumbled Sting in response, turning away from him. "Wait! Where did Gray and Natsu go?"

* * *

"Good afternoon, everyone!" started Makarov-sensei at the start of lunch. "I have some excellent news! Your afternoon classes have been canceled."

Cheers erupted throughout the entire cafeteria.

"And since all of you have graciously participated in Spirit Week, we—the faculty—have decided to reward you with a genuine Ball.

"Now, this won't be your ordinary school dance. We'll be having somewhat of a competition. Firstly, you'll be paired off. After that, you'll head to the appropriate locker room and change into your ballroom attire. Then you and your partner will make your way to the gymnasium where we will have a 'Best Couple' vote made by the faculty. And the winners will receive a very special prize.

"Are we ready to begin with the selection of your partners?"

"Wait just a fucking minute!" snapped Gajeel, who was dressed as the Big Bad Wolf. "We can't pick our own partner?"

"Language," Makarov-sensei lightly scolded. "But yes, that's right."

"This is outrageous!" he snarled.

"Oh, get over yourself," provoked Sting.

"I wouldn't mess with me if I were you," growled Gajeel.

"Oh? And why is that?"

Gajeel just smirked and blasted something in his face.

Sting screamed. Pepper spray?! Why did it have to be pepper spray? "AAH!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Let me help you with that." Gajeel then splashed his face with the milk he'd had during lunch.

Sting sniffed. "That actually helped."

"Shall we continue?" Makarov-sensei continued hurriedly. Sometimes his students scared him.

When everyone settled back down, Makarov-sensei took a box from one of the other faculty members.

"I'll draw two names at a time. Pay close attention. These will be your partners for the Ball." He said as he drew the first two names. "Sting and Lucy!"

"What?" Sting screeched.

"Cana and Erza!"

They looked at each other awkwardly.

"Loke and Levy!"

Gajeel glared at them.

"Gray and Mirajane!"

Gray pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Natsu and Rogue."

"Hey! What about me?" shouted Gajeel when it seemed the rest of the names had been called out.

"I'm getting to you," said Makarov-sensei. "And it seems like you'll be paired with that strange person in the back. I think his name is Rei."

Gajeel looked at the teen leaning up against the wall. He looked…spacey.

"Hey," said Rei, nudging Gajeel. "Is a Ball kinda like an orgy?"

"Seriously?! What are you on?" he snapped.

"On?" Rei asked in confusion. He looked down. "I think I'm on the ground. Wait! Is this one of those trippy questions? Like you're asking me if we're in the matrix? Cuz I don't know what pill I'd take, man. I think I'd follow the white rabbit, though. Hey! You kinda look like the white rabbit! Am I supposed to follow you now?"

Gajeel's eye twitched. "I am not a rabbit!" He felt that if he listened to Rei anymore, he'd just get stupid.

* * *

"I'm really sorry, but we don't have any more ballroom gowns. You'll both have to wear one of the men's outfits," Wakaba-sensei informed Sting and Lucy.

"Can't we just get the one from Gajeel and Rei?" started Lucy. "They were given a gown."

"True, but I just don't have the heart to take it from him," said Wakaba-sensei, his eyes focusing on Rei dancing around in the gown. "He just looks so happy in it."

Lucy sighed. "I guess it's fine then. Right, Sting?"

Sting just grumbled in response. "Let's get changed. You go first," said Sting, crossing his arms.

"Really? That's nice of you," commented Lucy cheerfully. She smiled and just kept on smiling. "You could at least say something nice back."

"Why should I? I just got paired off with the last person I wanted to be with."

Lucy approached him threateningly. She narrowed her gaze at him. "Maybe we should discuss your manners."

"My manners? You're the one who's—what's that? What're you doing with that yo-yo?"

"It's just something I've been meaning to try out. Now look into my eyes," Lucy began in a sultry voice as she moved the yo-yo back and forth.

Sting couldn't help but get drawn in.

"Just listen to the sound of my voice. Nod if you can hear me. Good. Now close your eyes and listen. I am going to count to three. When I snap my fingers, you will be polite and friendly to everyone, okay?" she continued.

Sting nodded again.

"Excellent. One…two…three." _Snap!_

* * *

Rogue groaned after he finished putting on his dress, Natsu waiting for him just outside the door. Why was the whole world against him today? "I look like a girl!" he exclaimed from within the locker room.

Natsu chuckled. "I think that's the point with the dress."

"Yeah, but this makes me look like a girly girl," he said as he stepped out. "And it's pink. Why did they give me a gown? I'm a guy!"

"Well, at least it's better than the outfit you wore earlier, right?"

"Yeah."

"And I hear Sting's acting weird while wearing his suit."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"You're not just saying that to make me feel better are you?"

"Kind of. But it is true! Sting's really acting weird!"

"This I have to see," said Rogue as he stopped fiddling with the gown. "Let's go have a look."

* * *

"If I have to suffer, so does he," mumbled Gajeel as he thought about how to get revenge against Sting. "And will you stop twirling around in that dress!"

"But it's fun!" laughed Rei as he continued to twirl. "Wanna try it?"

"No! I don't want to try it! Now stop before I rip that bloody dress off of you and shove it down your throat!"

"Ya know, I could just take it off it you wanna try it on that bad," Rei offered.

"For the last time, I don't want to try it on!" Gajeel snapped. "That's it. I'm going to push Sting over the edge."

* * *

"I want to dance with someone else," grumbled Mirajane for what had to have been the tenth time within the past five minutes. "You're not very good at this."

"Will you shut up already?" quipped Gray. "If I have to hear another word out of you, I'm going to throw your ass into the punch bowl."

Mirajane growled and crossed her arms. But silence still wouldn't come to him. "I still—"

"Look," Gray interrupted, "we would all prefer to be partnered with different people, but—"

"Really? Who did you want to be partnered with?" interrupted Mirajane, suddenly interested.

"That's not the point! The point is—"

"Hi!" called Lucy, waving at them. Sting stood next to her, holding onto her arm.

"Hello, Gray. How are you? Isn't this fun?" implored Sting, a glazed look in his eyes.

"You did it again?" exclaimed Mirajane, her eyes widening. "How many times must I warn you not to dabble in such things as hypnotism?"

"But I'm good at it!"

"Are we having fun yet?" announced Natsu, adding himself to the group along with Rogue.

"Oh, we are having lots of fun," said Sting in the same monotonous voice.

Rogue raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with you?"

"There's nothing wrong with me. I feel absolutely fine."

"I have never seen him like this before," Rogue whispered to Natsu.

"And I've never seen you in a dress until today," replied Natsu, which only earned him an elbow to the ribs. "Oof, I mean…uh, like what? Nice?"

"No. Calm."

"May I have your attention please?" interrupted Makarov-sensei. He stood at the front of the gymnasium, microphone in hand. "We'd like to get started with our competition.

"Now, since you've all been paired with someone, you will look to this person as your dance partner. We'll be having a formal waltz beginning in a few minutes. The rest of the faculty and I will be observing you and will choose a winner for the 'Best Couple.'

"Are we ready to get started? Then let the waltz begin!"

Everyone went into the arms of their respective partners and began dancing. Well, some were dancing. Others were tripping over the ballroom gowns and making fools of themselves. How many modern day teenagers knew how to waltz?

"I never took you for one who knew how to waltz," observed Rogue, seemingly impressed by Natsu's dancing ability.

"I watch a lot of old movies," he replied meekly, showing him his goofball grin.

"Figures."

"Time to cause a little mayhem," Gajeel said from far off. "Now's my chance."

As he made his way over to Rogue and Natsu, he also crept near Sting. Gajeel grabbed Sting's arm and yanked him around.

"Oops. Pardon me," Gajeel cackled as he pushed Natsu into Rogue.

Natsu flew forward, knocking Rogue into the wall.

"Sorry!" Natsu began.

"It's okay," he replied as he tried pushing him away, but there was one little problem. Natsu's belt was stuck to the front of his dress.

Stupid lace!

* * *

Whatever trance Sting had been in was gone now. After seeing the compromising position Natsu and Rogue had been in, he started to become himself again. And he was confused.

Especially when Natsu placed his hands on Rogue's hips and guided him backward outside the gym where no one could see them.

Did that mean Rogue liked Natsu? Or did Natsu like Rogue? This was all too confusing!

Wait. He had to calm down and look at things logically.

He liked Natsu. Natsu didn't like him. Gray liked Natsu. Natsu didn't like Gray. He didn't like Gray and Gray didn't like him. Now it seemed that Natsu liked Rogue and Rogue liked Natsu. But Rogue was friends with him, and it had always seemed like he was friends with Natsu.

WAIT!

Did that mean he was stuck in the middle of some kind of love triangle? But there were four people. So that made it…he was in the middle of a love square!

There was no doubt about it. Life was awesome!

* * *

"I only bumped into you! How the hell did this stupid belt get so tangled up in this damn dress?" Natsu exclaimed as he fumbled with the traitorous belt. It seemed like the more he touched it, the worse it got.

"What do you expect? It's lace. Let me try," said Rogue, batting his hands away. "What the hell did you do to it?"

"I didn't do anything!"

"Then why are there knots in it?"

"I don't know!"

"That's it. I'm going to kill whoever invented lace," Rogue grumbled as he fought with the damned material. He fought with it some more before losing his temper.

 _Rip!_

"Uh, I didn't mean to do that," Rogue said. "Well, so much for the frilly bow on the front of the dress. And unless you want to go out there with my bow on your belt, I suggest you take it off."

"I don't know if I can even get this damn thing off," replied Natsu, fiddling with the lace bow.

"I meant take off the belt."

"Oh, yeah. That works, too," he stated with an embarrassed laugh as he took his belt off. "Okay. Are we ready to go back in there?"

"Sure. Why not?"

* * *

Gray just kept staring at the door that led outside of the gym. He didn't want to believe it, but from what he'd seen, it looked like Natsu and Rogue were in a relationship.

And they had been out there for quite some time. What could they be doing? Had they left?

He turned his gaze back to the door and noticed Rogue and Natsu reemerging. But something was off. The bow that had been on the front of Rogue's dress—why he wore a dress was beyond him; maybe Natsu had a thing for them…anyway—was gone and Natsu's belt was missing. Had they—

"We would now like to announce the winning pair of the competition!" announced Makarov-sensei.

Everyone grew quiet when the music began to fade. They'd picked a winner? Already? Maybe they wanted to do it as soon as possible so that they could hightail it out of here.

"Seeing as how we have so many women on the faculty, the decision was quick and easy," he grumbled. "Our 'Best Couple' goes to Natsu and Rogue!"

"We won?" Rogue deadpanned.

"But we weren't even dancing for that long!" added Natsu.

"It doesn't matter," Makarov-sensei whispered as he dragged the two of them up to the front of the gym. "They all thought your kiss was cute. That's how you won."

"Kiss? What kiss?" questioned Natsu.

"When you were pressed against the wall."

"We didn't kiss," Rogue corrected him.

"Really?" replied Makarov-sensei. "That's what it looked like to everyone else. And when you two left, the women on the faculty thought you two had confessed to each other."

"That didn't happen!" exclaimed Natsu. The teachers were perverts!

"Well, it doesn't really matter. You still won. Now, you're going to claim your prize and do it with ease," he continued. "And now for your prize! A gift certificate to The Guild!"

That was it? A gift certificate to The Guild? That burger place? They could have at least gotten them a gift certificate to a decent restaurant or something. Cheap bastards. Oh, well. It was better than nothing.

Natsu took the gift certificate and smiled sheepishly as the students cheered.

"You guys were pretty good out there," commented Lucy as Rogue and Natsu filtered back into the crowd of students.

"Thanks, I guess," replied Rogue. "You and Sting were pretty good, too."

"I saw what the two of you did!" Sting blurted. "You two kissed and then left together!"

Gray's eyes widened. _Thank you, Sting, for being so uncouth_ , he thought. Maybe he'd be able to clear things up.

"For the last time, we didn't kiss!" Rogue explained. "Natsu bumped into me. His belt got stuck on the bow of my dress. We left so that we could get unstuck. But I ended up ripping the bow off the dress. And then Natsu took his belt off because the bow was stuck in it."

Natsu pulled the belt that had the bow stuck on it out of his pocket as proof.

Gray sighed in relief. There was nothing going on between Natsu and Rogue.

Sting, however, looked disappointed. "So I'm not stuck in the middle of a love square?"

"A love square?" everyone echoed.

"Where in the world did you get a love square from?" Natsu asked exasperatedly.

"That would require four people," said Lucy.

Sting nodded vigorously. "Yeah. Me, Natsu, Rogue and—"

"Actually," Rogue cut in, noticing the panicked expression on Gray's face, "it's more like a love pentagon."

Sting stared at him blankly.

"That's five people."

"Five?" he exclaimed. "Who's the fifth person? This is even better than being in a love square! Tell me! Who is it?"

As Sting continued to berate him with guesses, Rogue glanced back at Gray, who seemed relieved that Sting's attention was now elsewhere. Apparently, he finally realized he had a thing for Natsu. And Sting knew it, too.

* * *

 **End Chapter**


	9. Chapter 9

**Fan Club**

* * *

Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail

* * *

 **Author's Note** : My brain astounds me.

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

Levy closed her eyes and braced herself for the terror that was about to unfold. Everyone had been invited to The Guild to hang out for the weekend. And when Gajeel showed up, cackling in the most evil way possible, she knew things wouldn't go well.

"What did you do?" Levy questioned him. Why did she feel this was the only question she asked him? But it wasn't like she wanted to know; she needed to know just in case she had to call an ambulance or something.

"I swiped that guy's cigarettes," Gajeel started, pointing out front. "And then I slipped some of those popper things into them and gave the pack back to him."

"Popper things?"

"Yes. You know the things you throw at the ground and they pop? Like mini firecrackers?"

Levy's eyes widened.

"Don't worry. It's safe. I think. Anyway, the guy lit one up and it popped. I don't think he'll be smoking again anytime soon."

"What am I going to do with you?" Levy sighed.

"Would you people quit whining? You're acting worse than children," Gray snapped in the entryway of The Guild. "I offered to pick you three up. The least you can do is act civil."

"Hey, it's not my fault I skipped breakfast," Natsu complained.

Gray just raised his eyebrow skeptically. "I never said not to have breakfast. I just said to be ready by noon."

"Yeah, and that means Natsu and I can use our gift certificate to pig out; therefore, no breakfast," added Rogue. "And we're late anyway, so technically, it is your fault."

"It is not my fault that Sting was still asleep when we arrived!" Gray snapped.

"Oh, so it's my fault then?" Sting retorted.

"Yes! It is! It's not—forget it! Just get inside," Gray groaned, Lyon laughing behind him. "And you shut up."

"This is fun! I like them!" Lyon said with a smile. He really enjoyed the fact that these three could work up his brother so much.

As soon as they were inside, however, Natsu and Rogue bolted for the register to place their order.

"Well, look who decided to show up. You're late. That's very unlike you, Gray," stated Erza with a smirk.

Gray's eye twitched as he rounded on the others who'd been invited. "Don't even start with me. I already had to spend what felt like half the day waiting for _him_ to wake up and get ready," he said, indicating Sting.

Erza laughed. "Anyway, we're all over there. I think everyone's here now."

"Come on, Gray. Let's get something to eat already," insisted Lyon.

"Fine," Gray relented, allowing himself to be dragged to the register. Rogue and Natsu were nowhere to be seen. They placed their orders, received their food, and proceeded to sit with everyone else.

But Natsu and Rogue were still missing. Looking perturbed, Gray glanced around, not spotting them.

"Their orders aren't done yet," Sting started as if reading his mind. "So they're probably wandering around while trying to keep their stomachs under control."

Deciding to act a bit more socially, Gray replied, "How can their orders not be finished? We went after them."

At this, Sting chuckled. "They have black holes for stomachs, so let's just say they normally order enough food for ten people."

Gray paled slightly. If Rogue ate anything like Natsu…

"Finally!" Natsu sighed in exasperation, carrying a tray loaded with what looked like half the menu. He and Rogue strode over to two empty seats and started dividing up their spoils.

"That one's mine!" declared Rogue.

"No it's not!"

"Natsu, I ordered two double cheeseburgers, a chicken sandwich, fries, onion rings, chicken nuggets, a side salad, and a soda."

"I thought you got one double cheeseburger and two chicken sandwiches!"

"No. That was last time."

"Then why do we only have three double—never mind. The other one was under the—wait! They gave us an extra order of chicken nuggets!"

"Shh! Not so loud!" Rogue hissed.

"What? It's not like they're gonna take it back."

"You don't know that for sure. Now split up the extra chicken nuggets with me."

Everyone paused from eating as they watched Rogue and Natsu sort out their mound of food. Noticing that it had gotten quiet, they both raised their heads and simultaneously said, "What?"

"You two are so alike, it's scary," Lucy blurted.

"Are we?" asked Rogue.

"I have to agree with her on this one," Loke pointed out. "I've never seen anyone eat as much as Natsu."

"It depends on what it is," Rogue said. "I can beat him at eating breakfast foods any day."

"That was a fluke and you know it!" interrupted Natsu.

"It was not! It was a pancake eating contest! Don't blame me because you decided to eat some bacon to help you wash down the pancakes!"

"It was the only way to keep up with you!"

"How did you two meet?" Lucy asked suddenly. Their second round of bickering ceased when the question finally sank in, making Sting chuckle.

"At the Sports Clubs' Seminar," they answered together.

"I think they got that, but they want specifics," Sting teased.

At this, Rogue and Natsu grew bright red as they glared back at him.

"It must be some story if you two are blushing like that," said Loke.

"That's because it's embarrassing," Natsu muttered.

"Well?" inquired Lucy.

"If you don't tell them, I will," insisted Sting.

"A cupcake," Rogue blurted. "A chocolate cupcake."

"Yeah," Natsu continued sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "The seminar had a buffet type setup for lunch. I was heading back to the buffet table for dessert, and I saw that there was only one cupcake left."

"We reached for it at the same time," continued Rogue. "And being the hotheaded guy he is, he challenged me to an eating contest over the cupcake."

Lucy laughed. "Really?"

"Yep," Natsu replied solemnly as if reliving the moment. "He kicked my ass."

"I'll kick it again whenever you're ready. And don't say it was a fluke, either. We've had eating contests five times and you still haven't beaten me."

"Natsu, it sounds like he totally wiped the floor with you," cackled Loke.

"I can't believe it," Lucy added. Someone beating Natsu with anything related to food was beyond her.

"This day just gets better and better!" cried Gajeel in delight. Maybe he should try challenging Natsu to an eating contest.

At this, Lyon decided he needed to make an announcement. "You know what would make this day even better?"

Gray did not like the look he was receiving from his brother.

"A sleepover at our place!" Lyon continued.

Gray slammed his head on the table.

* * *

Having a sleepover might have seemed like a good idea, but when there were random people—including himself—swarming his house like locusts, Gray started having second thoughts.

"What the hell are you doing?" Gray demanded, eyes narrowing at the suitcase Gajeel held in his hand; he hadn't arrived with that.

"Nothing," replied Gajeel.

"Don't you bullshit me," Gray ground out. "What are you doing?"

"I saw some things I liked. So what? I only decided to pack them away to take home with me tomorrow," he replied nonchalantly.

"You can't come into someone else's home and take their things!" roared Gray as he dove for the suitcase. But Gajeel was too quick for him. "I hate sleepovers!"

"Haven't you ever had a sleepover before?" Natsu asked hesitantly when he noticed Gray's face turning purple.

"No," he admitted, his skin reaching a more natural color. "But that's no excuse to take someone else's possessions!"

"He's just having some fun."

"Fun? I don't thi—where the hell is the Persian rug?" Gray snapped as he stormed off, leaving Natsu in a stupor in the hall. "Gajeel! I'm going to kill you!"

"This isn't going to end well."

"Hey, Natsu?" Lyon started, tapping Natsu's shulder. "I ordered pizza."

"How many?"

"Five large ones. Why?"

"You should triple the order. Some of us can really put it away."

"By some of us, do you mean you and Rogue?"

"Maybe," Natsu replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"How can you two still be hungry? After everything you ate for lunch, I figured you'd be full for days!"

"What? We've got fast metabolisms?" Natsu defended.

"Or black holes for stomachs," mumbled Lyon.

"So about the extra pizzas…"

"I'm on it."

* * *

"No," Gray insisted firmly.

"Why not?" asked Natsu.

"Because…just because. It'll be inappropriate."

"It's just Spin the Bottle," said Loke.

Everyone looked at Gray hopefully. It wasn't a sleepover if they didn't play games like this.

"Fine," Gray grumbled. "But if things get weird, we're stopping." Gray wasn't sure if they'd heard him or not because they all sat themselves down on the floor.

"I get to go first!" Lucy cried as she grabbed hold of the bottle and spun it. It landed on Loke. Lucy paled significantly. "No," she whined.

"Oh, yes," cackled Loke as he leapt across the room and planted one on her, to which Lucy planted her fist in his stomach.

Everyone gaped until Natsu cleared his throat. "I'll go next," he said, taking the bottle and spinning it. The bottle spun several times before landing on Gajeel.

Noticing that Natsu hadn't moved—whether it was from shock or fear, he didn't know—Gajeel decided that he needed to be the one to initiate things. So he leaned over toward the other teen and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

It was quick and simple. Done.

"I'll give it a shot then," voiced Erza. She spun the bottle.

And it landed on Cana.

"Oh, give me a fucking break," quipped Gajeel. "This game's getting boring real fast. Let's play a different game."

"I agree," said Levy, jealous that Gajeel kissed Natsu. "How about Truth or Dare?"

"Ooh! That sounds fun! I want to start!" cried Lyon. "Rogue, truth or dare?"

Stunned by the sudden question, he answered, "Uh…truth."

"Who was your first kiss with?"

Rogue blinked a few times. He kind of regretted not picking dare instead. "I haven't had my first kiss yet," he answered quietly.

"Man, I knew we should've kept playing Spin the Bottle," mumbled Loke.

"Lucy," started Rogue after shooting Loke a glare, "truth or dare?"

"Um, I'll go with truth."

"Who was your first crush?"

Lucy paled significantly. "It was…can I change my choice to dare?"

"No!" everyone cried.

"Fine. It was Gajeel. Happy?"

"WHAT?!" Loke screeched, rounding on Gajeel. "What did you do to my Lucy?"

"I never did anything to her! I never even knew she liked me!" he insisted.

"Sit down, Loke. That was a long time ago," stated Lucy firmly. "And I'm not yours anyway," she mumbled.

Loke plopped himself on the ground and crossed his arms, looking put out. "Fine."

Lucy sighed in relief before continuing with the game. "Gray, truth or dare?"

Gray shot everyone in the room a glare. "Unlike the rest of you, I'm not afraid of a little dare, so I pick dare."

Gray didn't realize Lucy could give looks like that. She looked absolutely evil; she scared him more than Erza did when she ran out of strawberry cake.

"Excellent, Gray. I dare you to moonwalk across the room."

Moonwalk? What the hell was that? Gray was extremely confused. "I don't know what that is."

"It's one of the dances Michael Jackson is known for," clarified Natsu.

"…"

"I've got this," said Lyon. "Gray, it's a dance technique that presents the illusion of the dancer being pulled backward while attempting to walk forward."

Everyone stared at Lyon blankly, except for Gray.

"That's it? Why didn't Lucy just say that in the first place?" Gray inquired as he stood up and walked to the far side of the room. He then—much to everyone's gaping surprise—moonwalked across the floor. "Is it my turn to pick someone?" he asked as he returned to his seat.

"Um, yes. It is," stated Lucy, still trying to overcome—or at least interpret—what she'd just witnessed.

"Gajeel," began Gray with a smirk, "truth or dare?"

"Truth," he replied, pleased with himself when Gray's smirk faded.

At this, Gray started drawing a blank. "Have you ever…killed an animal?"

"Everything except cats," Gajeel answered.

"Why—"

"Ah, ah, ah. You only get one truth," he interrupted. "Now, who to set my sights on. Yes. Sting, truth or dare."

"I'm not like you sissies. I pick dare," he crowed.

"Yes! I dare you to keep an ice cube down your pants until it completely melts!"

"But…I'm going commando today," Sting whined.

Gajeel hadn't heard him. He'd raced off to the kitchen. And when he returned, he brought an entire ice tray with him. Grabbing the front of Sting's pants, he dumped the ice cubes down them.

"ACK! YOU SAID ONE!" Sting shouted.

"Oops."

"Someone is going to pay for this!" he cried as he ran around the room while gasping and screaming bloody murder.

After about fifteen minutes, Sting finally settled down, having gotten over his dare. "I'm going to go with Natsu. Truth or dare."

"Dare," Natsu responded, looking pleased with himself.

"Fine. I dare you to…to kiss Rogue!" he declared.

"You know you could have made him kiss you, right?" said Loke.

Realization dawned on Sting. "Son of a bitch!"

"Okay," Natsu answered simply as he moved over to where a bewildered Rogue was sitting. Natsu placed a small kiss on his cheek. "I wasn't going to take your first kiss," he whispered gently as he sat back down.

"Hey! He dared you to kiss him!" shouted Gajeel.

"I did."

"But…it wasn't on the lips!"

"He never told me _how_ I was supposed kiss him."

"But—"

"It's my turn now," interrupted Natsu, his eyes landing on the game's next victim. "Loke, truth or dare?"

"Dare," conceded Loke. "I'm ready for anything."

"Anything, huh? Then I dare you to…spank Gray."

"What?" inhaled Gray.

"I'm game," said Loke. "Stand up, hot stuff."

"Excuse me?!" Gray roared, jumping to his feet. "There is no way in hell you are coming anywhere _near_ me! Is that understood?"

"Can I just get in one little spank?"

"Can I throw you from the roof of my house?"

"Is there a safety net below it?"

"Not for you."

"I won't spank you then."

"Good," stated Gray firmly, turning to leave the room.

 _Whap!_

Gray froze before turning around, his face taking on the look of a bloodthirsty killer. "You have a death wish, don't you?" he ground out.

"Um…"

"How dare you spank me!" Gray snarled as he lunged at Loke.

"I think this just turned into a murder mystery dinner," said Gajeel.

"Yeah. Except we know who the murderer is going to be," added Natsu.

"True. But not the cause of death," said Rogue.

"Anyone wanna start a pool on how Loke gets killed?" asked Gajeel.

"I'm in," said Sting. "Put me down for drowning in the toilet."

"I'll have a go then. Put me down for impaling," added Erza.

"You're betting on him getting killed?" gasped Lucy.

"Not really. I just thought it would be a fun list to show him in the end."

* * *

"What are you doing?" Gajeel asked, watching as Loke nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Shh! They'll hear you!" he hissed back.

"Who?"

Loke grabbed him and yanked him down, pointing to a crack in the door. As Gajeel peered through the slight opening, he tried hard to stifle a gasp.

"See?"

"Are you insane?" Gajeel seethed. "You're spying on the _girls_?"

"But…they're wearing panties!"

They stared at each other for about a minute before they both peered back through the door. Sure enough, Lucy, Erza, Cana, and Levy were clad in nothing but tanks and panties and having a _pillow fight._

"Oh, my—"

"Shh!"

"Sorry. I can't believe I'm actually doing this," whispered Gajeel.

"They are so hot…when they're not, you know, acting all insane and stuff."

"Yeah. I get what you mean."

Suddenly, the door flung open, causing Loke and Gajeel to lose their balance and plummet into the room.

"It looks like we have some company," ground out Erza.

Lucy blinked. "Wait! You were _spying_ on us?!"

Cana walked over to the stammering guys, hands on her hips. "Do you like what you see? Come on. Be honest."

Gajeel shot Loke a look that said 'don't do it.' But the other teen gave in. "I think you ladies look hot."

"Not as hot as you're going to be," said Cana sweetly before her mood changed completely, "AFTER I'VE BEATEN THE CRAP OUT OF YOU!"

"Run!" cried Gajeel.

"Come back here!"

The guys tried to run for their lives, but Loke tripped and fell to the ground, giving Erza the opportunity she needed to catch him.

"Help me!" he cried as he was dragged back into the room, where the door promptly slammed shut.

Gajeel stood out in the hall, stunned. What the hell was he supposed to do now?

* * *

"I promise. I won't kill him," Gray ground out. "Now untie me!"

Natsu sighed and took in the teen's appearance. After Gray tried to shove Loke off the balcony, he'd decided to take matters into his own hands. That only led to him tying Gray to a chair while Loke escaped.

"You promise you won't kill him?" Natsu asked.

"I promise."

"Or try to harm him in anyway?"

"…"

"Gray?"

"…I'm thinking," he responded. "I won't…harm him. Consider Loke temporarily forgiven. But if he pisses me off again, I will kill him and make it look like a freak accident."

Natsu figured that was as good as it was going to get. "Okay," he said as he untied Gray.

Gray rubbed his wrists when he was finally free. "What do we do now?"

"Well, this _is_ a sleepover. So everyone's probably hanging around in your room already. Let's head there."

"My _room_?" he yelled as he stormed into the hall and toward his bedroom. He nearly kicked down the door, expecting his room to be in shreds.

It wasn't.

All of the guys were just sitting on the floor playing cards, save for Gajeel and Loke. "You didn't destroy my room," he deadpanned.

"You expected us to?" inquired Lyon. "We do have _some_ self control, unlike some people."

Gray clenched his fists. All he had to do was breathe and remain calm, right?

"I'm bored with this," stated Lyon as he tossed down the cards he'd been holding. "Let's have a pillow fight!"

"No!" Gray insisted almost immediately. "I had enough of that during Pajama Day!"

"Why not? It's not like it's dangerous or anything," said Lyon.

"Go ahead, then," he conceded. "But leave _me_ out of it."

Soon enough, everyone managed to get a hold of a pillow, and the fight began. It lasted about five minutes before something truly awful happened.

 _Whap!_

"…"

The room stilled.

Gray raised his head, looking at the offending pillow that had dared to strike him. "Who?"

Lyon shoved Sting in front of Gray. "He did it!"

"Sting," ground out Gray, picking up the pillow and rising from the bed. "You're going to pay for that."

Before Sting had a chance to react, Gray swung the pillow at him. The force from the blow launched him into the wall.

"Holy shit!" gasped Lyon, dropping his own pillow. "Is he dead?"

"You can't kill someone with a pillow," stated Natsu matter-of-factly.

"You can if you smother them with it," said Gray, turning to face him.

"Am I off the hook if I say you have anger issues?" Lyon asked pleadingly.

 _Whap!_

"Gray! Do I have to tie you up again?" Natsu quipped. "I can't have you killing my friends."

"They started it."

"I'm finishing it," insisted Natsu. "Now everyone drop the pillows. It's time for bed."

"Okay, Natsu," sighed Lyon. It was fun while it lasted.

"I feel like I'm running a fucking child care," commented Natsu as he crossed his arms.

* * *

Gajeel jumped when the door to the girls' room finally opened, but he gasped when he took in what they'd done to Loke.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"I think I've been traumatized," whimpered Loke, who was now wearing make-up and female clothes. His hair had even been styled.

"You make a weird girl," Gajeel stated absently.

"Shut the hell up! This is all your fault!"

"My fault? We shouldn't have been over here in the first place!"

"You should've rescued me!"

"…"

"…"

"Did they say anything while they had you?" asked Gajeel curiously.

"Yeah," answered Loke.

"What was it?"

"If I ever act like a pervert around them again, they're going to see to it that I'll never get a woman…ever."

"And how do they plan on doing that?"

Loke whimpered as he fell to his knees. "By posting the pictures they took of me on the internet and hanging them up around school."

"That's harsh."

"Tell me about it."

* * *

 **End Chapter**


	10. Chapter 10

**Fan Club**

* * *

Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail

* * *

 **Author's Note** : Why, brain?! Why?!

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

"I was right!" Natsu hissed through his teeth as he continued peering through the window of their literature classroom. It was currently lunchtime, and Natsu had made it his mission to prove that their literature teacher, Macao-sensei, was actually a drunk.

Gray looked through the window as well, and sure enough, that bastard of a man was swigging away from something in a brown bottle. "Would you look at that? How did you know?"

"Well, you and Rogue wouldn't know because you two are in the library during certain classes. But Macao-sensei usually _reeks_ of alcohol. And I kept seeing him take a drink from something in his drawer. I don't think he keeps it locked, though," continued Natsu as he began hatching a plan.

"HE'S GOT BOOZE?!" exclaimed Sting, eyes widening.

"Would you shut up?" snapped Gray.

"So what do you guys want to do about it?" inquired Lucy. "We should tell someone, right?"

"Well, even though I'm on the Student Council, I only have so much credibility. And any teacher we tell might think we're messing around," stated Rogue. "But we could set him up so that he gets caught."

"I think I have an idea," said Natsu.

* * *

"Um, are you guys sure this is a good idea?" Levy questioned. "I mean, we could still tell a teacher like Lucy said."

"Shut up, Levy," said Sting. "Do you guys have that window open yet?"

"We can't mess with it now. He's still in there," hissed Rogue.

"Well, go distract him or something."

"I'd better not get detention for this," Rogue muttered under his breath as he left.

A few minutes later, a loud ruckus came from the hall outside Macao-sensei's door. And—sure enough—he got up to investigate. That would keep him busy for awhile.

"Now get that window open," ordered Gray.

Natsu and Sting knelt by the window and tried to pry it open. When they succeeded, they noticed there was just enough space for Levy to slide through.

"Come here," Natsu said, beckoning Levy to him.

"Why?"

"You're the only one who can fit."

"But those sides look sharp. What if I cut my arms or something?"

"Oh, for the love of—"

"EEP!"

Gray grabbed Levy's jacket sleeves and tied them around her, her arms trapped inside, making it look as if she wore a straightjacket. Next, he shoved Levy through the open window.

Levy flopped like a fish once she landed on the floor. "I can't get untied!"

"Just wriggle out of the jacket!" hissed Natsu.

Once Levy managed to break free from her bonds, she crept back to the window.

"Okay, get the bottle out of his desk and empty it out. Then replace it with the iced tea," said Natsu as he passed Levy the drink.

"Okay," she replied nervously.

Levy sped over to the desk and opened the bottom right drawer. Finding the bottle, she popped off the top and nearly fainted at the potency of the alcohol. How on earth could that man drink this stuff?

Glancing around the classroom, she raced over to the nearest houseplant and emptied the bottle, hoping the poor plant wouldn't die immediately from the booze. Once the bottle was empty, she opened the iced tea and poured its contents into the empty bottle.

"If I catch whoever's been making noise in this hall, you'll be suspended before you can even say suspension!"

Levy jumped. Macao-sensei was just outside the door.

"Hurry!" Natsu hissed again.

The small teen put the top back on the bottle, nearly threw it into the drawer, shut it, grabbed her jacket, and flew through the window in a mere few seconds.

"That was close," Levy panted.

"Good job, Levy," commended Natsu.

"What do we do now?"

"Rogue's got that covered."

"Where is he, anyway?" inquired Gray.

"Over there," replied Natsu as he pointed to Rogue. He was walking in their direction with Mavis-sensei, their Vice Principal.

"What on earth are you doing out here?" questioned Mavis-sensei. "You should all be at lunch!"

"We were," cut in Rogue, "but then we saw something strange, and I ran off to find help."

"Help? For what?"

"We saw Macao-sensei drinking something. We think it might be alcohol," interceded Gray.

"Is that so?" replied Mavis-sensei, putting her hands on her hips as she pursed her lips. "Stay here."

They raced toward the window when she went around the corner. And soon enough, she entered Macao-sensei's classroom just as he put his bottle to his lips.

"Macao!"

The man spat his drink across his desk, giving it a look of disgust. "Mavis?"

"Is that alcohol?"

"No! Those brats replaced it with iced tea! When I find out who—" Macao-sensei immediately stopped talking. "I mean—um—you see—I have a prescription!"

Mavis-sensei pinched the bridge of her nose. Even their students weren't _that_ stupid. "I'm afraid you will need to be released from your position…immediately. We can't have this type of behavior reflect the school."

"I can't believe that actually worked," said Sting in awe.

"You know what this means, right?" started Rogue.

"Substitute!" Natsu replied, giving Rogue a high-five.

* * *

"Greetings, students," announced Gildarts-sensei, Fairy Academy's new literature teacher. "Due to an unfortunate series of events, Macao-sensei will not be able to work here anymore."

The students who knew the real reason behind his absence snickered.

"So I hope that we can all start off on the right foot, and have an excellent school year," he stated excitedly. "And thank you, Gray and Rogue, for being in class today. I understand your academic status, but I'd appreciate it if you'd stop by once in awhile.

"Now let's shake things up a bit. I've noticed that you haven't had the opportunity to express yourselves. I hold creativity and originality to the highest standard, so I thought we'd do a bit of poetry."

The class immediately groaned.

"Aw, that doesn't appeal to anyone?" continued Gildarts-sensei. "How about if it's _love_ poetry?"

Gray's head shot up as soon as he said that. _No_ , he thought to himself, glancing worriedly at nearly every fangirl who looked his way. He would have rather kept the drunken teacher.

"I see I got everyone's attention with that one," he laughed. "Here's your assignment—which _will_ be due tomorrow. I want everyone to create an original piece of poetry— _love_ poetry—that can be directed toward anyone. A boyfriend, girlfriend, movie star, whatever. It can even be someone you're pining for."

 _I hate this man_ , Gray thought when his fangirls looked at him again.

"And the best part is yet to come! Starting tomorrow, I'll randomly select people to recite their poems! After I go over them first, of course. We wouldn't want to encounter anything too explicit. Am I right?"

Gray groaned and sank further into his seat. He definitely would have rather kept the drunken teacher.

* * *

Gildarts-sensei was quite pleased with the buzz of excitement in the air from his students. Even if most of that buzz was coming from the girls. And by the crazed looks in some—er, most—of their eyes, he was starting to have second thoughts about this whole love poetry thing.

At least he'd finished grading their poems. Most of their excitement was probably due to the possibility of reciting their poem in class. That would have been great if half the poems hadn't all been directed toward one person.

Why did Gray Fullbuster have to be in his classroom? Oh, well. Teenagers, right?

"An F?" screeched Sting. Gildarts-sensei looked down to see the appalled look on his student's face as he passed him the graded poem. "Why did I get an F?"

Gildarts-sensei resisted the urge to smack the teen upside the head. "Because you plagiarized."

"I plagi-what?"

"You copied that poem from somewhere else."

"And?"

"The assignment was to create your own _original_ poem."

Sting shot up in his seat. "But this poem totally represents me!"

Everyone in the class turned toward them.

"It was supposed to be a love poem. An original love poem."

"It is a love poem, and I can prove it! Lover!" Sting cried, turning his attention toward Natsu. Said teen froze, staring at him wide-eyed. "This is for you!"

* * *

 _ **Sting's Poem**_

 _Mirror, Mirror on the wall._

 _Make 'em beg._

 _Make 'em crawl._

* * *

"This shows what I am willing to do for my lover," stated Sting firmly.

Rogue hid his face in his hands. If Sting wasn't going to be embarrassed, he might as well be embarrassed for him.

Gildarts-sensei opened his mouth to speak before he was cut off by another girl. "That's not fair! I want to read my poem!"

"No! I get to go next!"

"No! Me!"

Gildarts-sensei's eyes widened as the girls—Gray's fangirls, he presumed—started attacking each other. And when they suddenly lunged toward Gray, an idea struck him to save him.

"Everyone who got an A can leave!" he screamed at the top of her lungs. As soon as those students bolted, he slammed the door shut and tried to calm everyone down.

"That was close," panted Rogue as he and Gray slowed down from their brief sprint. "Are we the only ones who got A's?"

"It appears so," replied Gray in the same breathless manner. "Or we're the only ones who made it out alive."

Rogue chuckled. "What should we do now? Class still won't be out for awhile."

"Go to the library like we normally do?" suggested Gray.

"Sounds like a plan."

They headed for the library and carefully snuck passed any hall monitors since they didn't exactly have a pass to be wandering the halls. Once they made it, they went toward the back of the library so that they wouldn't be seen by the librarian. Their librarian had an unhealthy obsession with Gray, so it was best to lay low.

Plopping down in one of the leather chairs, Rogue sighed, letting his head flop backward on the chair as he dropped his book bag next to him.

Gray sat in the chair next to him. That was when he noticed the sheet of paper on the floor. He reached down to pick it up. "Is this your poem?"

Rogue shot up like a rocket. "Give it back!" he said quickly as he tried to snatch the paper from him. But Gray just stood up, his poem just out of his reach.

* * *

 _ **Rogue's Poem**_

 _He has yet to see the love I hold within my heart_

 _To know that my very soul has been torn apart_

 _And when I feel the need to cry out his name_

 _I extinguish all that hope as one would do a flame_

 _For if he knows what lies within my tortured mind_

 _My world will shatter as it's maligned_

 _And if he does not feel the same as I do thus_

 _I'll have nothing but this loneliness_

 _So I keep the truth away from him, ever_

 _As my heart and soul begin to wither_

 _And as I feign this falsehood as a crime_

 _I can only hope my life will cease before its time_

* * *

"I said give it back!" Rogue shouted. This time he was able to grab his poem, although it ripped in half.

Gray's body moved of its own accord as he handed him the other half. He watched him carefully as he shoved the torn poem into his book bag. However, as soon as it looked like he was about to bolt, he grabbed his arm. "Stop."

"Let me go. Please?" he begged.

"No," he replied as he forced him back into the chair. He knelt in front of him so he couldn't escape. "What was it about?"

"Nothing. It's just a poem, okay?"

"That was not nothing," Gray insisted. He didn't really know how to go about this. How was he supposed to phrase it? "Are you feeling…suicidal?"

"No, I don't want to die…idiot," Rogue said softly after a moment's pause. "I just couldn't find something else that rhymed with crime and I didn't want to change the line."

"Rogue—"

"But that doesn't mean parts of the poem aren't true," Rogue cut in, his voice beginning to crack. "I never really knew what love was like until I met him. He's the light to my darkness. The world is brighter with him; it's filled with color. And…"

"And?" Gray urged.

"I..." he continued; however, his voice started to crack again as tears pooled in his eyes. "I-I fell in love with him."

Gray stared at him. "Who?" he implored.

Rogue shook his head. "It's just so… _hard_ ," said Rogue, tears stinging his eyes. "I'm in love with my best friend while he's head over heels in love with someone else. Whenever I see him with…him, it's like someone's stabbing me in the heart. He doesn't feel for me the way I feel for him, and it's killing me inside."

Gray clenched his jaw shut. Who the hell was Rogue talking about? Was it Sting…or Natsu? "Have you tried…telling him?"

Rogue shook his head again then sighed, looking completely defeated. "What if I did tell him and it ruined everything? What if I tell him and it destroys our friendship? I can't do that. I can't handle that. And I doubt he'd have any interest in me.

"Let's face it. I fell in love with someone who can never love me back. All I can do is stand off on the sidelines and make sure he's happy. I'll just do whatever makes him happy. As long as I can be with him that way, then…then…" Rogue stopped as the tears finally fell, sobs threatening to escape him.

Gray stood and sat in the chair next to him. Somehow, he could feel the pain he was going through; it was as if he spoke of the fears resting within his own heart.

* * *

Gray jolted when the bell rang, signaling the start of lunch. He quickly glanced around and noticed Rogue had fallen asleep in his chair. He frowned when he noticed how exhausted he looked. Maybe he should take him to the infirmary?

As carefully as he could, Gray stood and picked up Rogue in his arms. It felt awkward. He'd never really carried a full grown person before.

Finally leaving the library, Gray reached the hallway and froze. Students were staring at him strangely. Was it that odd for him to be seen helping someone?

"Gray! You wouldn't believe the fight that happened after you guys left!" Natsu shouted from behind him.

Gray slowly turned around and noticed Gray and Sting nearly trampling over each other to get to him. Then they noticed Rogue.

"What happened?" asked Natsu in concern.

"What did you do?" Sting accused.

"I didn't do anything," Gray snapped. He pursed his lips and tried to keep himself under control.

"What happened?" Natsu asked again.

"He's not feeling well," Gray answered quickly. "I'm taking him to the infirmary."

"Okay. Then let's go," insisted Natsu.

* * *

"Can you believe there's no nurse around?" Natsu stated as Gray set Rogue down on one of the two beds. He made to sit down next to him, but Sting beat him to it. Sighing, Gray moved to the other end of the room and crossed his arms.

"That's okay. I can take care of him," Sting said softly as he brushed the hair out of Rogue's eyes. "Has he been crying?"

Gray's head shot up. "What?"

"Has he been crying? He looks like he's been crying."

 _You can tell that?_ Gray thought frantically. What was he supposed to say?

"Did something happen?" asked Natsu, looking concerned.

Gray began to panic. Out of all times, these two decided to be hyper observant now! "We…were reading _Les Misérables!_ We got to a really sad part. Fantine died! It was a really touching scene!"

Natsu and Sting eyed him skeptically _._ Suddenly, a long sigh interrupted Gray from having to explain any further. Rogue was waking up.

Sting immediately turned his attention back to him. "Hey," he said gently.

When Rogue realized who was talking to him, he shot up. "Sting? Where—"

"You're in the infirmary," Gray cut in. "I brought you here because you weren't feeling well after you cried over Fantine dying while we read _Les Misérables_. You fell asleep in the library afterward, remember?" It was probably best not to bring up what really happened.

Rogue stared at him for a few seconds, memories of what had actually happened hitting him all at once. And Gray was giving him a way out. "Yeah. I remember now."

Natsu took in the way they stared at each other strangely. It was like they were having some sort of conversation, but he and Sting didn't know the language. He glanced at Sting; the same expression seemed to be on his face when their eyes met. Something was going on.

"Are you feeling better?" Sting asked.

Rogue plastered a smile on his face, a smile Gray knew was fake. "Yeah. I just have a really bad headache."

"Okay," replied Sting unsurely. _If you say so._

"Should we go to lunch now? It is lunch, right?" questioned Rogue as he got off the bed.

"Sure," said Natsu. He watched as Rogue left the infirmary, Sting right behind him.

* * *

"Hey! Come have lunch with me," announced Natsu as he grabbed Rogue's hand and dragged him away from Sting.

"What? But—"

"Don't worry. Loke will keep him busy long enough," laughed Natsu as he led Rogue toward a table near the back of the cafeteria.

"Long enough for what?"

"Just sit."

Rogue raised an eyebrow but sat all the same. "I'm sitting."

Natsu sat down next to him and started fumbling with his hands. "So…I was wondering if you'd…well, go on a date with me."

"…Excuse me?"

"A date."

"Like a dinner and a movie date?"

"Yeah! But…a fake date. Just to get their attention, you know?" he blurted a little too enthusiastically. "If you want to, that is."

Rogue sighed. Was he really going to consider this? Maybe he should give it a shot. Maybe he needed to do this. "Okay. But don't _expect_ anything to come out of it, all right?"

"Okay. No pressure," replied Natsu. "How about Friday night? I'll pick you up at eight?"

"Sure," he said with a smile as Natsu proceeded to leave. Once he was gone, Sting sat down next to him.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"Hm? Oh, Natsu asked me out on a date," Rogue replied, chancing a quick glance at Sting.

"A date?" echoed Sting. "And what did you say?"

"I said yes."

Sting felt his heart skip a beat as he clenched his hands into fists.

"You okay?" asked Rogue.

"Yeah! I'm fine!" Sting answered with a smile.

"I know how much you like Natsu—"

"It's okay! Really! Maybe we can turn it into a threesome sometime!"

Sting turned his head so that he could look at Natsu. Something didn't feel right, that was for sure. Why did he feel a sudden spike of anger toward Natsu?

He supposed that meant _Mission: Date Stalker_ was about to begin.

* * *

 **End Chapter**


	11. Chapter 11

**Fan Club**

* * *

Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail

* * *

 **Author's Note** : Let the date begin! And forgive my French!

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

"I still don't know what you expect me to do," Gray started, eyebrow raised.

Sting looked at him as if he'd grown an extra head. "Rogue's going on a date with Natsu!"

"I know that. What's your point?" he snapped.

"Natsu _asked_ Rogue out on a date and Rogue said yes!"

"And you want to know why?"

"Don't you?"

Sting got him there. He was a bit perturbed by the turn of events, especially after the incident in the library. "Look, Rogue and Natsu can make decisions for themselves. And if going on a date makes them happy…so be it. I won't interfere," Gray said, his voice trailing off in sadness.

Sting crossed his arms, looking miffed. "It doesn't mean we have to like it. I'm just…trying to look out for them."

"Did you try discussing this with either of them?"

"Well…no."

"Are you going to?"

"I don't know."

"You don't have much time to think about what you're going to do."

"Huh? Why not?" asked Sting.

"Their date is tonight," answered Gray simply.

"What?!" he screeched, grabbing Gray by the shoulders and shaking him. "You have to help me!"

"Let go! And what do you mean by help you?"

"We," Sting started as his plan came into fruition, "are going to follow them while they're on their date so that we can keep an eye on them."

Gray sighed, shaking his head at him. "And why would I help you with that?"

"Because if you don't, I'll tell Natsu you're madly in love with him," Sting replied as he narrowed his gaze at him. "You won't know when or where. The suspense will drive you insane. And when I finally tell Natsu, he'll confront you, and then you'll have no choice but to answer him. Is that really the way you want this to go down?"

Gray believed his threat wholeheartedly. "Fine. I'll help you."

* * *

Gray and Sting stood outside of Chez Francois—what Natsu would have deemed as that fancy-shmancy place—and waited for Natsu and Rogue to enter before they did. The two had been stalking the pair for about half an hour and hadn't really done much of anything yet.

"What the hell is this place?" Sting voiced as he tried to figure out how to pronounce the name.

"It's a restaurant," Gray replied. "A _fancy_ restaurant. And you're not even dressed for the place."

"Huh? What wrong with what I'm wearing?" Sting looked down at his tattered jeans and t-shirt.

"They wouldn't allow you in a place like that dressed as you are!"

"Are you two on a date?" Sting and Gray spun around, only to come face to face with Lucy. She eyed them strangely, but there was an odd look in her eyes. "Because I thought you two despised each other."

"We do!" Gray insisted all too quickly. "We're just—"

"Stalking people," Sting cut in as he nodded. Gray resisted the urge to smack him in the back of the head.

"Stalking who?" she asked.

"Rogue and Natsu. They're on a date. And they went in there," said Sting, pointing at Chez Francois.

Lucy looked at the large building and stared at its glistening windows and lights in awe. "I've never been to a place like that before. Let's take a look! I want to see what those two are up to!"

"You really want to go in?" said Gray, looking surprised that Lucy seemed to be okay with them stalking Natsu and Rogue.

"Hey!" Sting exclaimed, elbowing Gray in the stomach. "I thought you said we couldn't go in because of the way I'm dressed! Lucy's not exactly dressed for this fancy place either! How do you expect to get in?"

Gray smirked. "There's nothing out of my reach."

* * *

Okay, so maybe there were a few things out of his reach at the moment. For one, teaching Sting and Lucy how to say things in French—it wasn't going to happen. He'd never known someone could spray saliva so much from trying to say "coquilles."

Two, they couldn't see Rogue or Natsu from where they were sitting, so stalking would have to be put on hold for a bit.

And three…well, let's just say Gray wasn't too fond of the seating arrangements. Being trapped between two complainers wasn't what he'd had planned for the night.

"Ugh!" groaned Lucy as she glared at the menu. "I don't know what any of this says!"

"What're horse-d-oovers?" asked Sting, head perking up. "Did I say that right?"

"I'll just order for everyone," Gray sighed when the serveur arrived at their table. "Je prendrai Soupe a L'Oignon Gratinee pour trios. Et je prendrai Supreme De Volaille Aux Noisettes Et Aux Crustaces pour trios."

Sting and Lucy stared at Gray silently as the serveur took their order and left.

"You speak French?" they blurted once the man had left.

"Obviously," replied Gray as he raised an eyebrow.

"It sounded kinda sexy," Sting mumbled as his face turned bright red.

"What?" Gray ground out.

"Nothing! Just talking to myself!"

Sometime later, their hors d'oeuvres arrived; it was French onion soup with toasted croutons and gruyere cheese. Sting and Lucy—surprisingly—gobbled it up in a manner of seconds.

"You could eat with a little more class," Gray advised. "They next course is coming soon and I'd prefer it if the two of you didn't have at it like a pair of hungry wolves."

"But it's so good!" Lucy exhaled as she bounced up and down in her chair while Sting scraped the bowl clean with his finger.

Before Gray could reprimand them, the entrées were being served; a roasted French breast of free-range chicken, with cold water shrimp, Maine lobster, and a hazelnut sweet potato mousseline cake, sauced with an apple and mushroom frangelico cream sauce.

After their first bites, Gray wanted to hide under the table; Sting and Lucy kept moaning as if there was something else going on rather than eating their food. And he was starting to get weird looks. It wasn't his fault they were making absolute fools of themselves!

By the time they finished their food, Gray wanted to call it a day, but, alas, his night was far from over. When he glanced out the window, he spotted Rogue and Natsu walking across the street.

"Shit! L'addition, s'il vous plaît?" he snapped as he tried to flag down a serveur. But the man was taking too long. Gray slapped some money on the table. "Merci, au revoir! Come on! They're getting away!"

* * *

Lucy had to admit that she was having a good time. She'd gotten a free, fancy meal, and now she was being treated to a movie. Sure, it was weird being with Gray and Sting—it was like a bizarre triangular date—but it was fun.

Until she saw what movie they were going to see.

" _The Conjuring_?!" she shrieked. "No! I'm not seeing a scary movie!" She tried to run, but smacked into Gray.

"It won't be that bad," insisted Gray. "We're here to see what Rogue and Natsu are up to. And if you get scared, just close your eyes. I'll buy you snacks."

Appeased by the idea of another round of free food, Lucy conceded. Once they had their snacks, they made their way into the theater.

Gray's eyes panned the rows of seats. When he spotted Rogue and Natsu a few rows ahead of them, he pushed Sting and Lucy down a different aisle. "Sit," he demanded, shoving them into a pair of seats; Gray sat between them. "And shut up." His heart hammered incessantly. Oh, how he wished he could be sitting next to Natsu!

Sting was pissed. He really wanted to sit next to Natsu. He knew he hated scary movies, so he believed this would have been a great opportunity to get some groping in. But no! He was sitting on Gray's right with Lucy on his left. There was no way he could sneak off. Huffing, Sting crossed his arms, determined to annoy Gray once the movie started.

But once _The Conjuring_ began, picking on Gray—or doing anything else for that matter—was the furthest thing from his mind. Or anyone's, really.

Nearly two hours later, Gray, Lucy, and Sting were more than relieved to leave the theater. Gray more so than the other two. Not only had Lucy's nails dig into his arm whenever something scared her, but so had Sting's. He knew he'd have welts for days. But that wasn't the worst of it.

Gray didn't want to admit it, but he'd never be able to think of clapping the same way every again. He was afraid of clapping now. What kind of bullshit was that? "Stupid movie," he muttered to himself.

"Sting?"

Gray had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't realized they'd nearly trampled over Rogue and Natsu.

"Hi!" Sting called out a little too enthusiastically. "What a coincidence!"

Rogue, however, was not one to be fooled. Narrowing his eyes, he asked, "You saw _The Conjuring_ , too?"

Sting nodded vigorously.

"Did you have dinner before you came?"

"Yeah! We went to Chezz Fran…coos?" replied Sting awkwardly, looking to Gray for confirmation. He resisted the urge to throttle him.

Rogue placed his hands on his hips. "You've been following us!"

"No! Well, yeah. Kinda!" Sting babbled. "But Gray did, too!"

"Wait, you guys really _were_ stalking us?" Natsu asked incredulously. "I thought Rogue was joking when he told me!"

"I can't believe you, Sting!" snapped Rogue, glaring at the two of them.

"Wait a minute," Gray interceded, "we were just worried about you two."

"What for?" inquired Natsu. It was his turn to offer a heated glare.

Things were blowing up and they were blowing up fast. It was time for some damage control. "Look," started Gray. "Sting was just worried about you because he…got it into his head that…that…Natsu's a pervert and he wanted to prove it!" Oh, yeah. _That_ sounded convincing. "So I tagged along to make sure he didn't do anything rash that would result in him getting arrested! Then Lucy found us and things got out of control! We went to the same restaurant and the same movie you did! And I regret everything that's happened tonight because now I'm afraid of clapping! CLAPPING! Out of all things, I'm afraid of clapping! Who the hell is afraid of clapping?!"

Everyone sobered into silence; Natsu was the first to break it. "Maybe we should call it a night." He really didn't want to be a witness to Gray's mental breakdown.

"Yeah," Rogue added slowly. "We should take everybody home. Come on, Gray," he said gently as if speaking to a frightened animal. He placed his hand on his back and guided him out of the theater.

Suddenly, an idea struck Sting. Stepping behind Gray, he clapped his hands twice. Gray bolted. "Oh, this is going to be fun!" he cackled.

"That wasn't funny!" Rogue shouted at him. He ran after Gray, who'd disappeared into traffic; car horns blared and tires screeched.

"I think he's going to need some serious therapy after this," said Lucy when Gray just missed a bus.

"You think?" added Natsu, becoming extremely worried for Gray. "Hey, Sting. Do you think he'll sue you or something for attempted murder?"

"Huh? Why would he do that?"

"You just scared him into oncoming traffic," said Lucy. "What do you think he's going to do to you when he comes to his senses?"

Sting's smile faded. It was his turn to bolt.

* * *

When Monday arrived, no one dared mention Gray's new fear of clapping. His mood said it all. And it didn't seem like it was going to improve, either. They had a field trip to the museum this morning.

"So, how did the date with Natsu go?" Loke asked Rogue as they waited outside for the buses to show up. He gave him a nudge.

"It was…enlightening."

"Are you going on another date?"

"I…don't really know. We didn't talk much after the movie," Rogue replied with a little laugh. There was no way in hell he'd tell Loke that he'd spent most of the night trying to prevent Gray from getting hit by cars.

"Well, I think—"

"The buses are here!" he cut in.

"All right, everyone! Quiet down!" began Wakaba-sensei as he arrived. "It seems that we don't have enough buses, so 3-A will be split up amongst the other students."

The class groaned in protest as Wakaba-sensei started dividing up the class, sending half of them to one bus and the other half to another.

Gray took a deep breath and settled himself in a seat next to the window. He looked around. It seemed Lucy, Rogue, Natsu, Sting, Erza, and Lucy were on the other bus. Which meant he had to deal with the other morons. Why couldn't he have been on the same bus as Natsu? He should have snuck onto the other bus. Maybe he'd do that on the way back.

Loke sat down next to Gray and smiled at him. Gray groaned in response. It was going to be a long bus ride.

"Gajeel, don't you dare!" Levy muttered in the back. "The windows don't open in this bus!"

Gray's eyes widened as a putrid smell filled the air. Gajeel bolted from the scene and made for the other bus, which he burst into just as they were about to pull away.

Cackling, Gajeel took a seat next to Natsu. "Look!" he said.

Natsu and the others watched as students frantically tried to pull down the windows, but it seemed they were all stuck.

"What the hell did you do?" Natsu asked as he watched students gagging and cupping hands over their mouths.

"I set off a stink bomb in the back," Gajeel stated proudly.

"How many drops was it?"

"Drops?" Gajeel appeared confused. "I emptied the whole bottle."

"You emptied the whole bottle in the back of the bus?!" Lucy exclaimed. "Do you even know who's on that bus?!"

Gajeel shook his head.

"Gray's on it!"

The color drained from his face.

Everyone turned their attention back to the other bus. Strangely enough, the bus driver had pulled out an oxygen mask; it made them wonder if he'd encountered this sort of situation before. Gray, on the other hand, looked absolutely pissed while Loke looked positively green.

Loke suddenly lurched forward. And by the disgusted look on Gray's face, Loke had just puked on his shoes.

"He's going to kill me, isn't he?" Gajeel gulped.

"No—well, probably," said Natsu as he scratched the back of his head. "It might depend on who sets him off first."

"I don't want to die!"

Sting looked back at Gajeel. Maybe this was his chance to strike up some sort of truce. "Hey, Gajeel! I know a secret about Gray that might get you off the hook!"

"What is it?" he asked eagerly.

"Sting, don't you dare!" warned Rogue.

"Tell me!"

"Gray's afraid of clapping."

Gajeel blinked. "Like applause?"

"No. Just random claps. We saw _The Conjuring_ and it freaked him out."

"Sting!" Rogue shouted, shooting him a disapproving glare.

The color was back on Gajeel's face. "Interesting."

Sting smiled. "I'm glad we could come to an understanding."

Gajeel raised an eyebrow. "An understanding?"

"Yes," he replied. "I gave you a good piece of information and I expect you to do something for me in return!"

Gajeel looked absolutely wicked. "I'm sorry. Did you expect some sort of truce out of this?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"You should make deals like that before giving out any priceless information," he said. "But I will do something for you in return for this."

Sting's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yes. I'm going to tell Gray you set off that stink bomb."

"Why would you do that?!" Sting screeched.

"To take his sights off me, of course," he cackled.

Sting swallowed hard and looked back out his window, his eyes meeting menacing icy ones. He was done for.

* * *

Once they arrived at the museum, it was raining heavily. Students poured out of the buses in hordes, racing for the entrance as thunder clapped in the distance. The weather was getting bad. When they got inside, Wakaba-sensei gathered his class together and spoke to them.

"Now I know everyone wants to get started," he began. "So instead of making this as painful as it could possibly be, I've decided to let you pick your own groups and explore the museum yourselves. There are all sorts of exhibits and I feel you'll get more out of it if you can let loose a little."

Class 3-A murmured in agreement.

"Well, get into groups then and go explore," said Wakaba-sensei. "But meet back here in an hour for lunch."

Natsu looked through the crowd and dodged his friends until he found Gray. He actually wanted to spend some time with him…alone. Kind of like having a test drive, if you will.

"Gray?" Natsu called.

Gray turned, ready to blow up at whoever wanted to talk to him, but froze when he realized it was only Natsu. The angry expression on his face dissipated. "Natsu?"

"Hey! Uh, do you want to check out the museum together?" Natsu fidgeted slightly, nervous at the prospect of actually spending some alone time with him. He didn't even know if Gray actually liked him or not, but it was worth a shot. Especially after knowing he'd stalked him and Rogue last night; perhaps their plan had worked.

Gray's heart skipped a beat. "Alone? Just us?"

"Ye-eah?"

Gray could have kissed him on the spot, but he resisted. And boy was it hard to resist. Instead, he grabbed Natsu's arm and quickly made his way through the crowd before anyone could stop him.

When he did stop, they found themselves in the dinosaur exhibit. Gray and Natsu began staring awkwardly at a triceratops skeleton when the silence became too much.

"Are you okay?" Natsu asked, breaking the deafening silence.

Was he okay? He'd finally managed some alone time with Natsu! Of course he was okay! "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Just because you looked really angry on the bus ride up here," Natsu started unsurely.

"That's because some idiot set off a stink bomb! And the windows wouldn't open! Then Loke vomited on my shoes! Do you have any idea how disgusting that was?! I'm just glad I always bring an extra pair of shoes with me!"

So Natsu was right about Loke puking on his shoes.

"I suppose it could have been worse, though," Gray continued.

At this, Natsu flinched. "Well, uh, about that. There's something you should know."

Gray took a deep breath and braced himself. "What is it?"

"You promise you won't get mad?" Natsu asked, looking a tad fearful.

Gray gave him a warm smile. "I promise I won't get mad at you."

Well, that was better than Natsu expected. "Gajeel was the one who set off the stink bomb and he's going to pin the blame on Sting."

That actually wasn't as bad he thought it would be. "Okay."

"There's more," Natsu continued. "Sting told Gajeel you're afraid of clapping."

Gray opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Taking another deep breath, he finally managed, "HE DID WHAT?!"

 _CLICK_!

The lights shut off, leaving them in pitch darkness. All Natsu could hear was Gray's heavy breathing.

"Gray? I think the power went out."

"You think?" he snapped, his anger breaking to the surface. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to react like that. I'm just…losing my patience with some people. Not you. And I'm sorry to take it out on you."

Natsu smiled at him even though Gray couldn't see it in the dark. "I know. Gajeel and Sting can grate on people's nerves sometimes. But what're we going to do now? The power's out! We can't see a damn thing!"

"Just a minute," said Gray. He fiddled around in his pockets until he found his phone. "There. Light."

The glow from Gray's phone lit up the dinosaur exhibit, making Natsu get the chills; it looked kind of creepy like this. "Can we go find the others now?"

"Yes. Come on," said Gray, taking Natsu's hand and guiding him through the museum. Natsu was glad it was still a bit dark; it meant Gray couldn't see him blush. "We'll head back to where we were supposed to meet for lunch."

As they made their way through the darkened museum, they spotted other glowing phones and strangely illuminated faces. It made it look like there were disembodied spirits wandering the museum. When they reached their destination, they heard an anguished groan somewhere in the distance.

"I can't believe this!" shouted Rogue. "What kind of idiot comes up with something like this?"

"What's going on?" asked Gray as he and Natsu approached him. Rogue was crouched in front of a steel door that seemed to be locked.

"The teachers are locked in the staff room," he said as he rose from his crouched position. "When the power shut off, the door automatically closed and locked them in. There's no way to override it. They're stuck in there until the power comes back on. But that's not the best part.

"The museum doesn't have a generator for backup power. The phone lines are dead. And this is an absolute dead zone. Everyone's tried to call for help using their cells, but no one has a signal. And the weather's so bad outside that we're just stuck in here."

Natsu moaned. "So we've got no adult supervision, no food, and no power. We're sitting ducks! What're we going to do?! What if we starve to death?!"

"We're not going to starve to death," Gray assured him. "But what are we going to do?"

"Let me think," Rogue started as he wracked his brain for ideas. "Even though Cana's the Student Council President, no one's going to listen to her. But I still think everyone will listen to the Student Council. Or at least you," he said, indicating Gray.

"That may be true, but what does that accomplish exactly?"

"Well, we have some panicky people here and they need reassurance," Rogue said.

"And food," cut in Natsu.

"And food," echoed Rogue. "Food! That's it! I know what to do! Gray, I want you to gather everyone together in the main part of the museum. Natsu, go grab a few people and then follow me."

Gray reluctantly split off from Natsu and Rogue and began gathering everyone together. He even made them sit down on the floor and encouraged them to use their phones to light up the room. By the time everyone was settled, Rogue returned with Natsu, Loke, and Gajeel; they were laden with snacks.

"Where did you get those?" inquired Gray.

"We busted open the vending machines," said Gajeel with a wide grin.

"Busted—you stole from the museum?!"

"Not stole," said Rogue. "Yes, we did get all the vending machines open. Yes, we took everything from them. But I took inventory and the Student Council will reimburse the museum for the losses."

Gray seemed somewhat appeased by this. "Fine. Is there enough for everyone?"

"I think so," said Natsu. "I think we got enough for everyone to have a drink and a snack. Should we pass the stuff out now?"

"Go ahead," Rogue said. "After we get everything passed out, we'll discuss what to do next. Who knows how long we'll be stuck here."

After students began eating their snacks, they became somewhat restless.

Finally, Gajeel spoke up. "I'm bored!" he said. "I say we do a test of courage while we're stuck in here."

Excitement rippled throughout the group.

"Since I'm the Student Council President, I say we do it!" shouted Cana as she took a swig from her Coke.

"Fine!" yelled Rogue over the group. "We'll do a test of courage. But only under certain conditions, okay?"

The group agreed.

"You may use the Egyptian exhibit as the place for the test of courage since it's right next to this room. But don't touch any objects that belong to the museum. You will be supervised by the Student Council and your class representatives. If you step out of line, you will answer to me, got it?"

The students nodded vigorously, anxious to get started.

"Then you may begin. But go in pairs!"

Gajeel and Loke lit up. This was going to be fun. "We should scare them," said Gajeel.

"We should. But how?"

"We'll sneak in. But we'll need a distraction."

"It's okay Rei!" Lucy exclaimed as she tried to comfort him.

"That works," said Gajeel as he and Loke scrambled off to the exhibit.

"But he looks so much like him, Lucy! It's like I know him!" Rei sobbed.

"What's going on?" Natsu asked.

Lucy looked uneasy. "Rei says the mummy in there reminds him of his grandfather. He's not taking it well."

Gray snorted, but he stopped when Natsu shot him a menacing look. "It's okay, Rei. That mummy probably had a good, long life. Like your grandfather."

"This is so horrible." Rei continued to sob as he fell to his knees. "Museums are awful! They're nothing but large graveyards!"

"Maybe…we should go," said Gray when Rei started pounding the floor with his fists and screaming 'why.'

"Maybe you're right," replied Natsu. He pulled Gray away from Lucy and Rei and led them toward the Egyptian exhibit. "You want to give it a go?"

"Sure," said Gray.

 _Clap! Clap!_

Gray jumped.

"Sorry!" laughed Sting from behind them. "I couldn't resist."

"I swear, the next person who does that to me is going to get their ass kicked," Gray snapped.

"Calm down," insisted Natsu, stepping between him and Sting. "No one's kicking anyone's ass. Let's just do this test of courage thing."

"Yeah, it should be fun," said Sting. "Hey, Rogue! Want to join in?"

Rogue paused in what he was doing. "Uh, I guess so. I could use a little break from the mayhem."

As the four of the proceeded into the exhibit, they began hearing moaning sounds.

"What the hell is that?" Natsu asked as he gripped onto Gray's arm for dear life. They paused next to the open sarcophagus. The moans were coming from inside.

Suddenly, the mummy resting inside shot up. Natsu, Sting, and Gray scrambled away and hid behind Rogue, their manly screams echoing throughout the museum.

"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT TOUCHING?!" Rogue roared. He grabbed Loke by the hair and pulled him out of the sarcophagus. "Gajeel! I can see your feet! Get out from behind that statue!"

While Rogue began lecturing Gajeel and Loke on their behavior, Gray, Natsu, and Sting were still trying to get their breathing back to normal. That had been the most frightening thing they'd ever experienced.

"That was worse than the clapping," Gray groaned.

"That's it. I've filled my scared shitless quota for life now," Natsu panted, looking pale.

"We don't speak of this to anyone," said Sting. "And I won't do the clapping thing anymore, either."

* * *

 **End Chapter**


	12. Chapter 12

**Fan Club**

* * *

Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail

* * *

 **Author's Note** : Now introducing Juvia!

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

Rogue burst into Makarov-sensei's office and slammed a piece of paper on his desk. "Look at this," he demanded.

Makarov-sensei glanced down at the semi-crumpled paper. It was the Student Council election results from the previous year. "I'm looking."

"Read where is says 'Student Council President.'"

Makarov-sense's eyes drifted to that line and read the name next to it; the name had been crossed out with crayon and the name Cana had been written in place of it. "Oh, dear," he muttered.

"I was wondering how Cana became Student Council President and now I know why! I knew it just wasn't flashing her tits like she said! She scratched out the real president's name in crayon and wrote down her own name! I'd asked around and no one had known Cana even existed! Didn't anyone on the faculty check this?!"

"Well, I suppose not," responded Makarov-sensei. "We'll just have to relinquish Cana of her post and provide it to this person here." He tapped his finger on the crossed-out name.

"Erza wants nothing to do with this anymore. It had something to do with Cana's inappropriate means of winning votes," Rogue deadpanned.

"Oh, um." Makarov-sensei fidgeted somewhat under the glare he was receiving. "I guess you'll just have to fulfill that post. Congratulations on your promotion!"

"Are you serious?!" he asked incredulously.

"Yes," he insisted. "And to show my appreciation for your hard work, you may pick anyone to be your Vice President."

"Anyone?" Rogue echoed, eyebrow raised.

"Anyone," Makarov-sensei reaffirmed with a smile.

* * *

"You're going to be the Student Council Vice President," said Rogue, arms crossed as he stood in front of Gray's desk.

"Excuse me?" Gray started. "Why?"

"Because Makarov-sensei appointed me Student Council President and said that I could pick whomever I wanted as my Vice President."

"Let me rephrase that. Why me?" he pressed.

"Because the rest of the Student Council is a bunch of idiots."

"And?"

"The treasurer can't even do math!" he snapped.

"That's your problem, not mine."

"I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this," Rogue said slowly to ensure he heard him. "But if you don't become my Vice President, I will tell everyone you're an otaku."

"Like anyone would believe that!"

"They will when they see these," replied Rogue. He handed him several photos. "Mind you, I've very good with manipulating images."

Gray choked when he realized the images showed himself reading some very girly-looking manga. "You wouldn't dare!"

"I can even post them on the school's website if—"

"I'll do it!" he cut in. _I thought these were real, but even so…._

"I'm glad you're willing to work on a TEAM," Rogue said with a smirk.

 _What manga is this? I haven't seen this one before_ , Gray thought to himself.

"What, nothing to say?"

 _I don't have this one, but it looks good_.

"…Gray?"

"I'm taking these," Gray said suddenly as he gathered up the photos.

"I have the originals on my computer."

"Irrelevant."

* * *

"A little birdy told me a little secret of yours," said Natsu in a singsong voice.

Gray froze. "I am not an otaku and I have never read girly manga in my life and whoever told you is a big, fat liar who needs to be locked away for life," he rambled.

"Uh, no. Actually, Rogue just told me you're the Vice President of the Student Council," he replied unsurely.

"So you didn't see the pictures?" Gray sighed, looking relieved.

"What pictures?"

"Not important," he said. "But yes, I'm the Vice President now."

"How did he get you to do that?"

"Irrelevant."

"Okay, well, good luck with that then. I wish I could be on the Student Council, but you have to have brains to do something like that, I guess," Natsu said awkwardly.

Gray frowned. He didn't like it when Natsu put himself down like that. Suddenly, an idea struck him. "Do you want to be on the Student Council?"

Natsu blushed. "Kind of. Yeah," he replied honestly.

"And you're good at math?" If Gray recalled correctly, the treasurer couldn't do math. Maybe this was the opportunity he needed to spend some quality time with Natsu.

"You mean like calculus and stuff? No way! That shit's hard!"

"No. Just regular adding, subtracting, multiplication, division, fractions, percentages, that sort of math."

"Oh. Well, yeah. I can do that much at least," said Natsu.

"Good, because I am now appointing you Student Council Treasurer," Gray announced.

"Wait, what?!" Natsu exclaimed. "But—huh—you can do that?!"

"Of course I can."

"But what about the current Student Council Treasurer?"

"Irrelevant."

"What is that, your word of the day?"

"No," said Gray. "Do you know where the Student Council room is? A meeting is supposed to start soon."

"Yeah. It's at the end of the hall," said Natsu.

"Let's go then."

Gray and Natsu made their way down the empty hall. When they reached the Student Council room, they heard crying coming from inside. Pushing open the door, they saw Cana wailing next to Rogue; it seemed he'd told her about her relinquished post.

"Stop crying," scolded Rogue.

"But I-I wanna be p-president!" she sobbed.

Rogue rolled his eyes. "For the love of—I'll give you a new position," he said.

"Really?" inquired Cana, her tears ceasing.

"Yes. I'm promoting you to Garbage Inspector."

Gray leaned in toward Rogue. "Don't you think that's a little cruel?"

"Garbage Inspector?" echoed Cana. Her eyes soon lit up. "Awesome! See ya later, peeps!"

"She seems to like it," said Rogue. "How much trouble can she possibly get into with garbage?"

"You'd be surprised," said Natsu.

"Natsu! What are you doing here?" Rogue asked in surprise.

"Gray made me Student Council Treasurer."

Rogue blinked. "That's actually perfect timing. I just relieved the current one from his post. Welcome aboard, I suppose."

Natsu smiled brightly. This was going to be fun.

"Is it just the three of us?" asked Gray, indicating the empty room.

"No. We've got one more. The Student Council Secretary. But it seems she's running late. Again."

 _BOOM!_

"Sorry Juvia is late! Juvia was just gathering some herbs in the school garden."

Rogue, Gray, and Natsu turned to see the newcomer. She was tall and skinny with long, blue hair, her face lit with a smile. She also carried a basket with an assortment of herbs.

"You really need to start getting here on time," advised Rogue. "And as you can see, we've done some rearranging on the Student Council. Gray Fullbuster is now the vice president and Natsu Dragneel is the new treasurer."

"Hi! Juvia Lockser!" she greeted giddily. She shook each of their hands, but her eyes lingered on Gray for a bit longer than he was comfortable with. "Juvia is the secretary. And Juvia also tends to our school's garden."

"I didn't even know we had a garden," said Natsu.

Juvia ignored him. "Juvia just picked some herbs. Would anyone like tea?"

Gray stared at the contents in her basket. "You're growing marijuana?"

"Excuse Juvia?! Juvia would never!"

"Then why do you have some in your basket." Gray pointed to a section of leaves.

Staring at it for some time, Juvia exclaimed, "Gray-sama means someone's been growing pot in Juvia's garden?! Who would do something like this?!"

Everyone else looked at each other. "Rei," they replied.

"This is awful! Juvia can't believe this is happening!"

"It's okay," said Natsu, trying to console her. "No harm done, right?"

"NO HARM DONE?!" she roared. "JUVIA JUST MADE A BATCH OF BROWNIES USING THESE AND ALREADY GAVE THEM AWAY!"

"You…put herbs in brownies?" Gray asked.

"Well, obviously not considering it's actually pot!"

"Who did you give the brownies to?" asked Rogue.

Juvia dropped to her knees. "Juvia put them in the teacher's lounge."

Gray resisted the urge to laugh. "So you've drugged our teachers with pot brownies."

"Juvia didn't do it on purpose!"

"Did you leave a note saying who they're from?" inquired Rogue.

"No," Juvia sighed. "But Juvia left them there this morning. They've probably all been eaten by now." They stayed in silence for a minute. "If anyone asks, let's say it was Rei."

"But he didn't make the brownies," said Gray.

"HE GREW POT IN JUVIA'S GARDEN! HE CONTAMINATED JUVIA'S ORGANIC HERBS WITH HIS UNCLEAN FILTH! HE MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR HIS SINS AGAINST THE NATURAL WORLD!"

"What the hell is she talking about?" Natsu whispered.

"I have no idea," Gray muttered.

"You do realize that this doesn't change the fact that there is still marijuana growing in your herb garden," said Rogue. "And since you're the only one who talks about, people are going to think you're the one who's growing it."

"Rogue is right!" Juvia gasped. "Juvia needs to get rid of it!"

"And how are you going to do that?" asked Rogue.

"Juvia's going to burn it!" cried Juvia as she ran out the door.

"Burn it—Juvia come back! You can't burn it! You're going to make the whole school high! Juvia!" yelled Rogue as he ran after her.

"Well, that was an interesting first meeting," said Natsu.

"That it was," replied Gray.

* * *

"Good morning, students! And welcome to our 25th Annual Sports Festival!" announced Makarov-sensei. "I hope that everyone is ready for our spectacular event! And may the best class win! Now, let's have a few words from out Student Council President, Rogue Cheney!"

Rogue approached the podium with Gray, Natsu, and Juvia. "We have many great events for today's Sports Festival. The day will go something like this. We'll start out with the dekapan relay, then the 100m relay, followed up by tug-o-war. We'll break for lunch which will be provided for you in the empty gym at the other end of the campus. After lunch, we'll have a set of four more activities which make up the obstacle relay: the danboru goro goro, the blindfolded relay, henkindai, and ball carrying. Good luck to everyone! Play safe and fair!

"Now, as for the grand prize. The winning class will be exempt from ONE school end-of-term exam of their choice. This has been approved by Makarov-sensei. And as he said, may the best class win."

* * *

"I am not doing this," Gray deadpanned when he read the rules for dekapan relay. "No way in hell. I don't even care if you put those pictures online."

"What're these pictures you guys keep talking about?" Natsu asked as he watched Rogue and Gray have a stare-down.

"Not even if you're paired with Natsu?" replied Rogue, emphasizing Natsu's name.

Gray hardened his gaze. Was being embarrassed in front of the whole school worth spending alone time with Natsu?

Of course it was!

"Fine. Come on. Let's get this over with."

Gray and Natsu made their way to the track where pairs were being given a large pair of underwear; they looked like giant boxers.

"For this event," started Makarov-sensei, "each pair will each take their dekapan, or giant underwear, and put them on. One person should fit inside each hole. Once both of you are inside the dekapan, line up at the starting line. When I give the signal, you and your partner will race to the finish line at the end of the track."

"This is kind of stupid," muttered Natsu as he held up the giant underwear. "Why can't we do a three-legged race instead?"

"The faculty picked this event," answered Gray. "I suppose they wanted to humiliate us."

"Maybe. So…you want the left or right?"

"I'll take the left," said Gray.

He stepped into the left leg hole of the dekapan while Natsu stepped into the right. Pulling it up to their waists, the two realized how snug it was.

"This is kind of tight, huh?"

"Yes," replied Gray. _A little too tight. His body is pressed against mine!_

"Are you okay? You look kind of red," said Natsu.

"You do, too."

Natsu got even redder. "It's just that this is embarrassing! I mean, what if people take pictures and put them online?!" _And that's only the half of it!_

Gray frowned. He hadn't considered that. Well, there was one way to rectify the situation. He turned his gaze toward the crowd. "IF ANYONE EVEN _THINKS_ OF TAKING PICTURES OF ME LIKE THIS, I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND DESTROY EVERYTHING YOU HOLD DEAR!"

Cameras and cell phones were immediately put away.

"All right! Is everyone ready?" shouted Makarov-sense. "On your mark! Get set! Go!"

Gray and Natsu bolted…and instantly fell over. But they weren't the only ones. Gray lifted them back up.

"We have to do this together," said Gray, placing his arm around Natsu's waist. "We need to keep pace with each other."

"Got it," said Natsu, doing the same. "On my count, go. One, two, three!"

And they were off, matching each other's pace as they ran toward the finish line. They were neck and neck with another pair.

"Dammit!" Natsu said when his feet got tangled with Gray. They came crashing to the ground; the other pair crossed the finish line. "Get up! We can still get second!"

Gray hauled himself up and all but threw himself and Natsu over the finish line.

"Are you two okay?" asked Lucy as she raced over to them. Erza was right behind her.

"We're fine," said Natsu. "I think I tripped."

"Not exactly," said Erza. "Someone threw something at your feet. A stick, I think."

"What? Why?" insisted Natsu.

"I think it was the old treasurer," replied Lucy. "Maybe he wants revenge for you taking his place."

Gray scrambled out of the dekapan. "Then the team who won should be disqualified, right?"

"Unfortunately no," announced Rogue as he jogged over to them. "Our lovely old treasurer isn't in the class who beat you guys. So the best I could do was preventing him from participating in the tournament. I spoke with the winning class and they agreed to a tie. So we're both in first place."

"Really? They agreed to a tie?" Natsu was quite surprised.

"It's probably because they're afraid of what Gray or Erza might do to them if they said otherwise," replied Rogue.

"It's a good thing you're in our class, huh?"

* * *

 **End Chapter**


	13. Chapter 13

**Fan Club**

* * *

Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail

* * *

 **Author's Note** : More Juvia, anyone?

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

"Let's do this!" cried Juvia as she put her hands on her hips.

"What are you doing here? This is class 3-A," said Gray.

"Juvia transferred in," she replied. "Juvia did it for Gray-sama!"

"No," said Gray, eyes widening. "I won't allow it!"

"Allow what?" said Sting as he made his way over to them with Rogue and Lucy in tow.

"She cannot be in our class!" Gray snapped. He was having a sudden premonition of Juvia declaring herself his number one fan.

"Too late. Wakaba-sensei agreed," said Lucy. "I really don't see what the problem is."

"You're not a guy," Gray said.

"What does that have to do with it? Personally, I'm tired of there being so many guys in our class. It's about time we had more girls. Do you know how exhausting it is hearing you guys talk about guy stuff all the time?" lectured Lucy. "It's not like I can talk to Loke about boobs or periods."

"Can we please stop talking about this?" pleaded Gray. He was on the verge of making a run for it.

"Sure, I've talked to Natsu about that stuff, but it's just not the same as talking to a girl," she added.

"Wait, why do you talk to Natsu about…female subjects?" questioned Gray.

"Female subjects? Really?"

"What else am I supposed to call it?"

"I'm not even going there," replied Lucy. "But anyway, Natsu's a good listener and he has a little sister named Wendy—she's adorable, by the way, and in middle school— so he knows a lot about _female subjects_."

"If you two are done with your bitch fit, can we get started?" interceded Sting. "The relay is about to start."

"Sure," said Lucy, turning on her heel. "Come on, girls! Let's win this thing!"

"Win what?" Gray voiced to their vacated places. "The 100m relay?!"

"What's wrong with you?" asked Loke as he and the rest of 3-A gathered beside him.

"Those four are doing the 100m relay?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

Loke shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe their cycles are in sync or something."

"I HEARD THAT!" Lucy shouted from the track.

"How could she hear that? We're like a hundred feet away!"

"The sound carries," said Gray simply.

"Great. Now we're going to get lectured by Lucy later. Nice going, Loke," said Natsu.

"Lectured? About what?" asked Gray.

"It's better if you don't know," replied Natsu as he laughed a bit. "Now let's watch the race."

"It looks like Lucy's going to be starting. Let's hope she doesn't drop the baton," said Loke.

"You really have no faith in them, do you?"

"What can I say? They're the only all girl team down there."

"Don't let Lucy hear you say that."

"They're starting," cut in Gajeel. "Lucy's faster than I gave her credit for."

"GO LUCY!" shouted Loke. "She's the first one to pass the baton. Juvia's up!"

"Who is this chick?" asked Gajeel.

"Some new age hippy person," replied Loke. "How can she even run with those jugs? Ow! What was that for?!"

"Stop talking bad about people like that!" snapped Natsu after he smacked Loke in the back of the head.

"Fine! I'm sorry!"

Gray cleared his throat. "Levy's next," he said. Was this the sort of thing a group of guys talked about all the time?

"She's fast," said Gajeel in awe. "She's already passed the baton to Erza."

"She looks like she's got rabies. Look at her face. Ow! Natsu! Stop hitting me!"

"Then stop talking shit about people!"

"We won!" cried Gajeel as he jumped up and down. "Let's go down and congratulate them!"

* * *

"I'm not so sure I can do this, you guys," said Levy, eyeing the rope they were supposed to tug with another class warily. "I'm too small."

"Hey, we're supposed to work as a team," said Natsu. "That means everyone is important to the team, right?" He nudged Gray in the side.

Startled, he replied, "Right."

"You really think so, Gray?" Levy implored.

"Of…course I do," he said.

"Okay! I'm ready now! Let's win this!" she said before scampering off.

"That was really nice what you did there," whispered Natsu as he leaned in toward Gray. Their noses barely touched.

"Thank you. I think I was going for nice," he replied, leaning closer.

"Come on, you two!" shouted Gajeel, slamming a hand on each of their backs. "We have a game to win! If we don't win this festival and I have to take that science exam, there will be hell to pay! Who cares how many prunes there are in at atom?"

"Protons," corrected Lucy. "They're called protons, not prunes."

"Whatever," Gajeel grumbled.

Class 3-A then gathered on one side of the field while another class grouped together on the other. Once everyone had a firm hold on the rope, Makarov-sensei gave the signal and they began tugging.

It seemed class 3-A wasn't much of a challenge. Ten seconds in and they were already on the ground.

"What the hell happened?!" Gajeel exclaimed.

"It seems most of their class is comprised of people in the Weight Training Club," observed Gray.

"Does this mean I have to take that stupid science exam?!"

"Not necessarily," cut in Rogue as he dusted himself off. "We're still tied for first place. If we win the obstacle relay, we'll win the festival."

Natsu flopped back onto the ground. "I think I'm ready for lunch now. But someone's going to have to carry me. I'm exhausted when I'm hungry. Ack!"

Gray chuckled when Natsu flailed in his arms. "Didn't you say you wanted someone to carry you?"

"I wasn't serious!" he exclaimed, blushing. "Put me down! I can walk! I can walk!"

* * *

Gray and Natsu entered the old gym in confusion. What were they supposed to do? Wasn't lunch being served?

"Over here," said Rogue, beckoning them over. "Get in line. When you get up to the table in front, you'll have a lunch choice: turkey, bologna, or vegetarian. You get a sandwich, chips, fruit, and a drink."

"Right. Thanks," said Natsu. "Come on."

Once Natsu and Gray made it to the front of the line, they spotted Juvia; she was passing out lunches.

"What can Juvia get you boys?" she asked.

"I'll take the turkey," said Natsu.

"And I'll have bologna," Gray added.

"Sure thing!" she said. She turned around and grabbed two paper bag lunches. One had the letter T on it and the other had GF and hearts. "Here you go!"

"Uh…thanks," replied Natsu. "Let's go find the others and eat."

They left the gym and made their way over to a grassy spot underneath a large tree in the courtyard. Everyone else was sitting underneath it and eating. Natsu sat near Lucy and Loke, Gray sitting next to him.

"Hey, guys," said Natsu, opening up his lunch. Inside were a turkey sandwich, chips, an apple, and a bottle of water. He unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite.

Gray opened his lunch and found the same, except his was bologna. Taking a bite out of it, he immediately spit it out. "THIS IS NOT BOLOGNA!"

"Of course it is, silly," said Juvia as she sat next to a disgusted Gray.

"What is this?! I know for a fact that this is not bologna!"

"It's veggie bologna," giggled Juvia. "Juvia made that lunch especially for Gray-sama!"

"Veggie bologna?" Gray echoed. "VEGGIE BOLOGNA?! THIS CRAP IS DISGUSTING!"

"Gray-sama will get used to it."

"Used to it?! There will be no used to it! I want my damn bologna!"

"I'll trade you," said Lucy offering her vegetarian sandwich; avocado oozed out of the sides. "I don't mind eating veggie bologna."

Gray grimaced at the green mush. "That's even worse."

"Tell you what," said Natsu. "You have my sandwich. I only took a bite. I'll take Lucy's and she can have yours."

That sounded reasonable. "Fine." Once they swapped sandwiches, Gray rounded on Juvia. "What makes you think I want veggie bologna?"

"Because it's better for Gray-sama," she replied. "Does Gray-sama really want to hurt a harmless little animal just so Gray-sama can have his bologna?"

"Yes."

"How dare Gray-sama!" Juvia screamed. "How are Juvia and Gray-sama supposed to raise their children if they're not both vegan?!"

"What planet are you living on?! We don't have any children! And what the hell is a vegan?!"

"It's someone who doesn't eat any animal products," said Natsu. "No meat or eggs and stuff."

"People eat like that by choice?" Gray questioned.

"Of course! And more people should!" insisted Juvia. "It's completely inhumane to kill a living creature just to eat them. And the abuse they go through just to give provide milk and cheese and eggs is absolutely horrible!"

"So you're telling me you just eat fruits, vegetables, and grains?"

"More or less."

"Then I should be a meat-eater even more," said Gray finally.

"Huh?" replied Juvia, looking startled.

"You and all vegans are eating up all the natural resources animals need to survive; therefore, you cause overpopulation and starvation for animals everywhere. That, in turn, destroys ecosystems and natural habitats are all but destroyed. I, as a meat-eater, then have to eat more meat in order to compensate for the meat vegans don't eat in order to maintain balance in the natural world."

"What?" Juiva gasped.

"That lettuce you're eating right now, that could have fed a bunny. A poor, starving, little bunny."

"A bunny?! No!" she cried as she ran off.

"You really hated that veggie bologna, didn't you?"

Gray turned to Natsu and huffed. "I like bologna."

"And you know what you said is a load of crap, right?"

"I know that. She doesn't seem to, though."

* * *

"It's now time for our final event!" announced Makarov-sensei to the crowd. "Each class must select six members to compete in the obstacle relay. This relay will consist of four events: the danboru goro goro, the blindfold relay, the henkindai, and the ball carrying. Select your members and make your way down to the field."

Natsu turned to his classmates. "So who's up?"

"Juvia thinks Gray-sama should be in on it. Gray-sama can intimidate the competition," said Juvia.

Gray rolled his eyes. "Fine. Then Natsu should be a part of the team, too. He's one of the most athletic in the class."

Natsu blushed slightly at that. "Well, if we're going for athletic, then I guess Rogue and Sting should be in on it. Erza, too."

"That means we need one more person," said Rogue.

"I'll do it," Gajeel said, looking determined. "We must win at all costs."

"It looks like we have our team," stated Sting. "Let's do this!"

* * *

The obstacle relay was your typical relay, except instead of using a baton, a sash was being used.

"Erza, you do the danboro goro goro," said Rogue. "Sting and I will do the blindfold relay. Gajeel, you do the henkindai. Gray and Natsu? You do the last one. Are we ready?"

"Ready!"

Makarov-sensei gave the signal and Erza bolted for the first event while the others scrambled to their respective posts where they would wait to grab the sash.

The danboru goro goro was a bit interesting, if a bit unfair. It looked like a giant hamster wheel, but it was made entirely of cardboard.

"Grr," muttered Erza. She tucked the sash in her pants and climbed into the wheel and began pushing; she couldn't see a damn thing. Was she even going in the right direction?

"Hurry up!" she heard Sting yell.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" she shouted back.

"Oof!"

"Give me the sash," said Rogue as he yanked the item out of her pants. He wrapped the sash around Sting's eyes; the blindfold relay now began.

"Tell me where to go!" Sting demanded.

"Straight!" he said. "It's okay. We can jog. No one's in the way."

"Okay! Jogging straight!"

"Left! Go left! Now keep going straight! We're almost there!"

"It's about time," snapped Gajeel as he ripped the sash from around Sting's eyes. It was time for the henkindai.

Gajeel quickly made his way to a very narrow balancing bar. It was about fifteen inches above the ground and no more than two inches wide. He leapt onto the bar and swiftly made his way across it as if he'd done it his whole life. Other students kept falling off and had to start over.

"Hurry up!" said Gray. Once Gajeel reached him, he snatched the sash from him; he stuffed it in his pocket. "Let's go."

Gray and Natsu ran over to a pile of basketballs. For the ball relay, they had to carry four basketballs between them and make it to the finish line without dropping them.

"How are we going to do this?" Natsu asked, looking at the basketballs in disbelief.

"I have an idea," Gray said suddenly. "But it's going to look really stupid."

"As long as it works."

Gray pulled Natsu over to him. "We're going to line the four basketballs up vertically between us, from our knees up to our chins. Then we'll push ourselves together, wrap our arms around each other if we have to, and hop to the finish line."

"Are you _serious_ right now?" Natsu asked in disbelief.

"Of course I'm serious! Why would I mention it if I wasn't serious?!"

"Okay! Okay! We'll do it!"

They did as Gray had instructed and began hopping toward the finish line. Other students kept dropping the balls and had to start over.

"I can't believe this is working," panted Natsu.

"We'll see once we finish this stupid relay," Gray said as he continued to hop.

* * *

"I can't believe we actually won!" exclaimed Lucy, looking as cheerful as ever.

"I don't have to take that stupid science exam!" Gajeel declared as he dropped to his knees.

"So what exam are you going skip, Gray?" Natsu asked. They were standing a few feet away from the rest of their class.

"Physical Education," Gray deadpanned. "I've had enough strange physical activities to last me a lifetime. You?"

"History. I can never get all the names and dates right," he replied.

Gray began to fidget when the talking ceased. He really wanted to ask Natsu out on a date to celebrate their victory, but how would he ask without it sounded weird? "Speaking about dates," he started, "do you like dates?"

"Not really," Natsu replied.

Gray's heart plummeted.

"I mean, I don't think they taste very good, but if some people like them, that's okay, I guess," he continued.

"What?" Gray started, his jaw slackening.

"I'll see you later, Gray. I'm going to go call my sister and tell her we won. Can you believe it?"

Gray watched Natsu run off to make his phone call. "He thought I was talking about a fruit?" _You stupid, adorable moron!_

Gray dropped to his knees. Asking Natsu out was going to be harder than he thought.

* * *

 **End Chapter**


	14. Chapter 14

**Fan Club**

* * *

Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail

* * *

 **Author's Note** : It's been such a long time! Writer's block is finally over! But now we need some major drama to spark romantic feelings.

* * *

 **Warnings:** Fighting; Inappropriate Touching

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

"Hey, Wendy!" Natsu greeted from his phone. How he'd managed not to lose it while competing in the Sports Festival was beyond him.

" _Hi, Natsu-nii! Is everything okay?_ " she replied.

"Yeah! I just wanted to let you know that my class won the Sports Festival!"

" _That's great news! Do you want to have something special for dinner tonight to celebrate?_ "

"How about we do that tomorrow? I think my class wants to celebrate right now," he laughed. "We might head to The Guild. You could join us if you'd like."

" _Sure! I'll see you after school!_ "

After hanging up, Natsu noticed Rogue approaching him with a puzzled look on his face. "Hey, Rogue. What's up?"

"What did you say to Gray?" he asked.

"Huh? Why?"

"He looks like his brain just fizzled out."

Natsu looked over at the guy, and sure enough, Gray looked like he was losing his damn mind. Was he talking to himself?

Clasping his hands behind his head, Natsu said, "I don't know. He asked me what I thought about dates, and I said I didn't think they tasted very good. It's no reason to have a mental breakdown, though."

Rogue resisted the urge to smack Natsu in the head. "He wasn't referring to that kind of date."

"What kind of date was he referring to then?"

"Are you really that dense?" When all Natsu did was stare at him blankly, he gave in. "He was talking about going out. _That_ kind of date."

Natsu paled. "Are you serious? Why would he ask me about that?"

Rogue smiled sadly at him. He still didn't realize Gray liked him. "Your guess is as good as mine." Well, he probably shouldn't push it.

* * *

Rogue stifled a groan as he slammed his locker shut with a resounding bang. Why did Makarov-sensei insist on giving him so many extra responsibilities? This was why he was always getting home late.

"Rogue."

Said teen stiffened at the icy voice. _Not this again_ , he thought, steeling himself for the worst. Turning around, book bag clutched to his chest, he said, "What do you want Invel?"

Invel, a tall white-haired teen with slim glasses, inched closer to Rogue, their noses almost touching. He placed his right hand next to the other's head against the lockers. "Have you had a chance to consider my offer?"

"As I told you before, I didn't need a chance to consider your offer. My answer is still no," he quipped.

Invel narrowed his gaze. "Why?"

"I don't like you," Rogue ground out, glaring at the teen before him.

Invel slammed his left hand near the other side of Rogue's head, trapping him between himself and the lockers. "You _really_ shouldn't have said that. I don't have very much patience to begin with. Denying me will only make things worse for you. I'm through playing nice. I get what I want, when I want it. Do you understand?"

"Is that a threat?"

"It's whatever you make it out to be. Just remember," Invel replied as he leaned back and began walking away, "you've been spending a _lot_ of lonely moments around school. It would be a shame if something happened to you then."

Once Invel disappeared, Rogue sank to the floor, still clutching at his book bag. Why was everything slowly starting to fall apart?

* * *

"You took your time getting here," stated Sting once he spotted Rogue entering The Guild. "Just about everyone's gone now. I ordered for you, though. I hope you don't mind."

The dark-haired teen shook his head and sat next to Sting. Rogue wanted to tell him everything. He wanted Sting to make it all go away. He felt _safe_ with Sting. Protected. And yet…he couldn't ask that of him. Sting was always so preoccupied with Natsu; everything revolved around Natsu. Natsu, Natsu, Natsu. Sting didn't have time for…him.

"You okay? You're awfully quiet," muttered Sting as he placed an arm around his friend's shoulders, trying to coax him into talking.

Before Sting knew what was happening, Rogue launched himself into his arms, burying his face in his chest. Sting froze, unsure as to why Rogue would react this way; however, he gently embraced the teen quivering against his chest. "Rogue?" he began uneasily.

"Just hold me for a while," pleaded Rogue, his hands gripping Sting's shirt as he sniffed. "Please."

"Of course I'll hold you," he replied, his friend's tone making his heart ache. "Will you tell me what's wrong?"

"…I can't."

Sting rubbed his back consolingly. "Then tell me when you can." What more could he do?

* * *

Sting approached school the next day with a determined look on his face. Rogue had stayed in his arms for nearly half an hour before he finally let go. He'd even walked his friend home. And all of it had happened without a word.

So he decided he was going to figure out what was bothering Rogue even if it killed him. Something was troubling him, and he'd be damned if he'd let it continue.

He hated the fact that Rogue wouldn't tell him a damned thing! The dark-haired teen always felt that he was a burden to everyone. He wasn't a burden! He was special!

"Special?" Sting muttered aloud, the word causing him pause. What did he mean by that? Shrugging it off, he proceeded down the halls of the school until he found Gray. "Hey."

"Hey," Gray mumbled, the events of yesterday still plaguing his mind. _Dates…_

"I have a favor to ask," Sting continued.

Gray looked at him then. "Excuse me?"

The other teen sighed. "Look, let's put our romantic rivalry aside for a second. I'm worried about Rogue. Since you do that whole library and Student Council thingy with him all the time, I was wondering if you could…help keep an eye on him."

Gray nodded. "I can do that. What's going on with him, anyway?"

Before Sting could respond, a surprised shout erupted from Lucy. Everyone in the hallway turned toward the source of Lucy's reaction.

Rogue was standing in front of his open locker completely drenched, the contents seemingly damaged beyond repair. Water continued to pour out of his locker at an alarming rate.

"ALL RIGHT! WHO DID THIS?!" Natsu roared at the crowd, looking livid. If he could set fire to them all, he probably would at this point.

"Rogue?" Sting started as he placed a hand to his friend's shoulder. He could feel the other trembling under his touch. But he had to give Rogue credit; he kept his cool even though it looked like he might cry.

Rogue let out a shaky breath and stared at his locker. "It's all ruined."

"Natsu." called Gray. "Take Rogue to the locker room to get cleaned up. Sting and I will take care of his things and clean up the mess."

"Is that okay with you, Rogue?" asked Sting gently.

At the other's slight nod, Natsu slowly led him down the hallway and toward the locker room.

Sting's eyes narrowed at his best friend's locker. This went way beyond a simple prank. And it wasn't just something that happened out of the blue. There was a motive behind this, but what was it?

And how long had these things been happening to Rogue without his knowledge?

* * *

Natsu handed Rogue a towel so that he could start patting his hair dry before setting a pair of gym clothes next to him. "You should change, too."

Rogue nodded mutely, holding the towel in his hands.

Sighing, Natsu took the towel from him and began drying his hair since it seemed his friend was too in shock to do so. "That was a pretty nasty thing to do," he said, trying to get Rogue to say something. "Do you have any idea who did it?"

Rogue remained silent.

When Natsu finished drying his hair, he said, "I'm gonna get another towel. This one's drenched already. I'll be right back."

Once Natsu was gone, Rogue wrapped his arms around himself. Should he tell his friends who he believed was behind this?

"You look absolutely dreadful."

Rogue spun around and spotted Invel smirking at him. "Go away," he said, looking away. "Haven't you done enough? You humiliated me in front of everyone and ruined my things. What more do you want?"

Invel grabbed Rogue and shoved him to the ground, pinning him to the floor. "What more do I want?" he asked, laughing as Rogue struggled beneath him. "I want _you_. But you just had to say no, didn't you? But I get what I want, even if I have to take it by force."

Rogue froze under the cold gaze. He flinched when Invel suddenly grabbed his wrists in one hand and slammed them above his head.

"L-Let go!" he shouted as he began struggling. Kicking his legs, he tried to remove Invel from his person, but the other pinned his legs to the ground with his own, leaving him nearly immobile.

"I like you like this," whispered Invel, his hand slipping underneath Rogue's wet shirt. It snaked its way up past his navel, causing Rogue to shudder in repulsion.

"Get off me," Rogue gasped, tears forming in his eyes as he continued to struggle. He didn't want this. He didn't want Invel to do this. "P-Please?"

"No," said Invel, his travelling hand finding one of Rogue's nipples, pinching it between his fingers roughly. He also licked a small spot on Rogue's neck before giving it a light kiss. "I think this'll be a good place to leave my mark."

Rogue shut his eyes and let his tears fall, awaiting the torment Invel would put him through. He stifled a sob. _Someone! Anyone! Help me!_

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" a deathly voice came from next to them.

Rogue opened his eyes, relief washing over him as he saw Natsu standing there, fists clenched and shaking in rage.

Before anyone could react, Natsu grabbed Invel by the back of his shirt and ripped him off of Rogue, allowing the teen to scramble away.

Rogue watched in amazement as Invel punched Natsu in the face. The pink-haired teen instantly retaliated with an uppercut that sent Invel stumbling back. Natsu followed Invel further into the locker room as they both threw punches and kicks at one another.

Natsu then kicked Invel in the gut. When he failed to fall, Natsu kicked him in the groin, causing Invel to shriek in pain and fall to his knees.

"What is going on in here?!"

Natsu turned to see Wakaba-sensei glaring at the two bloodied teens and a trembling Rogue.

"All three of you! Principal's Office! Now!"

* * *

Makarov-sensei and Mavis-sensei stared at Natsu, their last hope.

They'd spoken with Rogue first, and he'd refused to speak. They could tell he was shaken up, so Mavis-sensei sent him to get changed out of his wet clothes and had him wait in her office alone.

Next, they'd moved onto Invel; however, he wouldn't say a damned thing either, so they sent him to the nurse's office to get ice for his…well, injuries.

"I will not ask again!" snapped Makarov-sensei. "You are looking at possible expulsion here! What happened?!"

"Makarov-sensei," started Mavis-sensei, "I don't mean to be rude, but discipline is under my jurisdiction. That decision is mine alone." She turned her attention back to Natsu. Mavis-sensei could already see the black eye forming on his face. "Please, Natsu. Tell us what happened."

Natsu took a deep breath and let out an unsteady sigh. This action seemed to drain him. "When we got to school today," he started off in a whisper, "Rogue opened his locker, and all this water came pouring out of it. His stuff was trashed. Not to mention Rogue was drenched.

"Gray told me to take Rogue to the locker room to get cleaned up and changed. Gray and Sting were gonna clean up his stuff."

"Go on," Mavis-sensei encouraged him.

"Rogue was…unresponsive, I guess? He just sat in the locker room, so I dried his hair, and then I left to get another towel. I was only gone for a few minutes. And when I came back, I saw…I saw…" Natsu clenched his fists in rage again, trying to keep his anger under control.

"What did you see?" implored Makarov-sensei. It must have been quite bad to make Natsu react this way. The boy was known for his temper, but to hurt someone as badly as he did…

"Rogue was crying," Natsu said in a rush. "Invel had him pinned to the floor and was…touching him and…and…"

Mavis-sensei's eyes softened. "Did he touch Rogue inappropriately?"

Natsu looked away from them, swallowing hard. "Invel had his hand up Rogue's shirt, touching him…there. And I saw him lick and kiss Rogue's neck. I…I lost it. I yanked Invel off, and he punched me in the face. We kept punching and kicking each other after that. Then I…kicked him in the stomach and then…down there. That's when Wakaba-sensei walked in."

"Thank you for your honesty," said Makarov-sensei. "But I cannot condone your behavior."

Natsu looked at him then, worry evident in his eyes. "Am I getting expelled?"

Mavis-sensei shook her head. "I understand your actions; however, you will face the consequences for them. I will be contacting your father, and you will have in-school-suspension the rest of the week. You will also serve after school detention all of next week since Midterms are coming up the week after next. Is that understood?"

Natsu nodded, sighing in relief before concern welled up in him again. "What about Invel?"

"Don't worry about Invel," said Mavis-sensei. "Right now I feel it's best you tend to Rogue. Let him know that I'll speak with him later."

Nodding once more, Natsu left the room.

Makarov-sensei leaned back in his chair feeling utterly exhausted. How could something like this have happened under his watch?

"I'll speak with Rogue again," said Mavis-sensei. "For now, let's see if Natsu can open him up."

* * *

Natsu walked into Mavis-sensei's office. He immediately spotted Rogue sitting in a chair looking as if he'd seen a ghost. He was about to open his mouth to say something, but Rogue beat him to it.

"I'm sorry," said Rogue, his voice thick with emotion.

Natsu frowned. "Sorry. What do you have to be sorry for?"

"You got hurt because of me. And you got in trouble," he said. "Is…Is it bad?"

Sitting in a chair next to Rogue, he replied, "In-school-suspension the rest of the week and detention all next week. They're even calling my dad."

Rogue nodded mutely. "I-Invel?"

"I don't know," Natsu answered honestly. "You should tell Makarov-sensei and Mavis-sensei what happened. They're only trying to help you."

"I…I know that. At least I think I do, but…I'm used to…dealing with things on my own."

"But you don't _have_ to deal with things on your own. You've got me, Gray, Sting, and everybody else! You're not alone."

Rogue shook his head. "I don't have Sting. He doesn't…he only cares for you."

Natsu chuckled at that. "Sting might be a perverted idiot, but if there's one thing I know, it's that he cares about you. You two are best friends, right? I mean, the both of you transferred schools together. Who else does that?"

"I followed him. Not the other way around," he corrected.

"You know, I think we're getting a bit off track here," stated Natsu. "What was going on with Invel?"

Rogue stared at his hands, which were clenched tightly in his lap. "Several weeks ago, Invel approached me and asked me out. I said no. He didn't like that. He kept asking me over and over again, making…making threats. Yesterday was the last straw, I guess."

"Why didn't you tell anyone? You should have at least told Sting."

"So he could say what?!" Rogue snapped, his eyes flashing to Natsu's. "Give it a chance?! I don't want Invel! I don't want anyone other than Sting!" He gasped when he realized what he'd said.

"You…" began Natsu as he tried to find his voice. "You want…Sting? Rogue…are you in love with Sting?" he asked as tenderly as he could.

That's when Rogue burst into tears. He buried his face in his hands and nodded, letting everything he'd bottled up inside finally set itself free.

Natsu got up and pulled Rogue into his arms. He wasn't what Rogue needed; he needed Sting. His heart went out to Rogue. He was well aware of what it was like to be in love with someone who didn't seem to see you.

So he continued to hold Rogue in his arms and let him cry.

* * *

"I've never felt this anxious in my life," said Sting as he walked with Gray to the cafeteria. "We haven't seen them since this morning! What the hell happened to them?!"

Gray was about to reply when he saw two familiar figures in the distance. "Where the hell have you—what happened?!" he exclaimed when he noticed Natsu's black eye and roughed-up knuckles.

"I…got into a fight," replied Natsu quietly.

"I can see that!" snapped Gray. "With who?"

"And why?" added Sting, looking at Rogue. He seemed skittish.

"It doesn't matter anymore," Natsu said when Rogue latched onto his arm. The past couple hours had been spent with Rogue practically in his lap crying his eyes out. Things had definitely changed between them somewhat. They were closer now.

"Something happened and it's done," continued Natsu. "End of story. Don't ask anymore." Rogue didn't want anyone to know what had happened, and Natsu guessed he could understand that. Regardless of that, they were still their friends.

Gray wanted to throttle Natsu for not telling him anything. "What can you say?"

"I got in a fight. I have in-school-suspension the rest of the week, after school detention all next week, and my dad's being called."

"And the person you got in a fight with?" inquired Sting. He noticed Rogue flinch and move closer to Natsu.

"Expelled," answered the pink-haired teen, his expression becoming troubled.

"Expelled? Just what the hell happened for someone to get expelled?" questioned Gray.

"What does this have to do with you, Rogue?" Sting implored.

Rogue began wavering, which caused Natsu to pull the teen into his arms. He rubbed up and down his back consolingly. "Like I said before, it's over. I'm not gonna let anything more happen to you, okay?"

"Rogue?" Sting begged again, his eyes swimming with worry. What the hell had he missed? "We've know each other forever. You're my best friend. Why can't you tell me?"

Rogue sniffed and pulled out of Natsu's arms, rounding on Sting and trembling on the spot. "You want to know what happened?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"What do you mean why? I care about you! That's why!"

" _Now_ you care?!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?! Of course I care!"

"Since when?!"

"Since always! Now tell me what the hell happened!"

"You want to know so badly?! Fine!" Rogue let his vice drop to a whisper. "Fine. Someone…"

"Rogue," Natsu cut in, but the other shook his head.

"Someone…assaulted me in the locker room."

"Assaulted…" Sting immediately looked Rogue over for injuries.

"Not…in the sense you might think," said Rogue, subconsciously rubbing his wrist. Sting noticed the action and spotted bruises one of them.

Sting reached out and grabbed Rogue's hands, turning them over in order to inspect them. Concern washed over him. "You can tell me. It's… _me_."

Rogue looked at the ground. "A few weeks ago, Invel asked me out. I said no. But he was persistent. I refused him again yesterday. He's...the one who did that to my locker. And in the locker room, he…"

"You don't have to say it," said Natsu.

Rogue swallowed thickly. He wanted to continue, to tell Sting the truth, but what would he think of him then? He didn't want Sting to think poorly of him.

"What happened?" begged Sting, bracing himself for Rogue's words.

"Invel pinned me to the ground," Rogue gasped. "And he touched me. I didn't want him to. He licked my neck and…and kissed it. He was going to do more, but that's when Natsu came back and stopped him."

Sting wanted to punch something. How _dare_ someone put their hands on him! "Rogue."

The harsh tone of his friend startled him. Raising his head, he looked into Sting's piercing blue eyes.

"I want you to _trust_ me. Trust me to take care of you. When someone or something is bothering you, tell me so I can make it go away. I don't want to see you hurting like this. You're too special to hurt," said Sting, brushing a few stray tears from Rogue's face with his thumb.

 _I'm too special to hurt?_ Rogue thought. _You're hurting me right now. Can't you tell I'm in love with you? What you're doing is only making things worse. You show me that you're sensitive, sweet, and that you care, but then you're always chasing after Natsu. I can't…do this anymore._

Even though Rogue desperately wanted Sting's touch, he pushed his hand away. "It's okay. I…I-I have Natsu for that."

Sting watched in amazement as Rogue grabbed Natsu's hand and led him away. What the hell just happened? And why did it hurt him so much to see Rogue go?

* * *

Word had spread quickly throughout the school about how Natsu had gotten into a fight with the person who'd been expelled. No one else knew any more than that, but they made sure to tiptoe around the teen. They didn't want to be on the receiving end of his rage.

But that was the least of everyone's worries at the moment. It was time for Midterms. Students gathered to look at the menacing schedule that had been posted.

* * *

 _THIRD YEAR – Literature Majors_

Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday

8:30-10:30 - Modern Literature/Japanese History/Basic Mathematical Analysis

10:30-12:30 - Classical Literature/ World History/ Chemistry

1:30-3:30 – English/Ethics/Physical Education

* * *

 _THIRD YEAR – Science Majors_

Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday

8:30-10:30 - Modern Literature/Probability and Statistics/English

10:30-12:30 – Japanese History/ Physics/Physical Education

1:30-3:30 – Integral and Differential Calculus/Chemistry

* * *

"What the hell? Why do you get less exams than us?!" exclaimed Natsu.

Gray stifled a laugh at the pink-haired teen's outburst, additionally pleased that his bruises were fading. "It's probably due to the fact we have more math and science classes than you guys."

Natsu groaned and looked over at Rogue. "Since we won the Sports Festival, which exam are you gonna skip?"

"Maybe…Physical Education. I've been studying too much to just skip one that matters," he replied.

That was probably the first time Sting had heard him speak in days. Ever since the locker room incident and his outburst in the hall outside the cafeteria, Rogue had been avoiding him. And for the life of him, he didn't know why! Rogue should want him to be by his side, to support him, to care for him. They were best friends!

But if Rogue wanted space, he'd give it to him. It was what he wanted.

Sting turned his attention back to the board. "This is gonna be the week of hell."

* * *

"It's finally over!" Natsu groaned as he face-planted into his desk Friday morning. "I don't have to think about these stupid exams ever again!"

"Hold that thought," said Gray as he organized his desk. "I heard that the teachers plan on posting our results next week."

"So soon?" said Lucy. "That's surprising. I wonder why."

"I guess they want a list of all the students who need to take remedial classes over the summer break," answered Gray.

"Ugh. I hope I passed them all. I hate remedial classes," Natsu whined. "You know, we should hang out this summer. I think there are lots of fun things going on. Want to do something together?"

Gray paused. Natsu…Natsu was looking at him as he asked that. Did that mean…he was asking him out?! What should he say?!

"That sounds like fun!" said Lucy, looking cheerful.

"I know, right?!"

And like that, Gray's hopes of a date plummeted to earth like an asteroid looking to wipe out all life on the planet.

He was going to have to go about this himself, wasn't he? His determination renewed, Gray decided he was going to ask Natsu out on a proper date!

But how the hell did someone ask someone else on a date?

* * *

 **End Chapter**


	15. Chapter 15

**Fan Club**

* * *

Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail

* * *

 **Author's Note** : I just love drama!

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

After much thought, Gray realized that asking someone out was actually quite simple. You just walked up to the person and asked, 'Will you go out with me?'

If the person said yes, great! You lived happily ever after.

If the person said no, not so great. You lived miserably ever after.

However, what should have been quite simple turned out to be a treacherous undertaking.

Gray could not get Natsu alone! Whenever he spotted the pink-haired teen, someone was always with him! And it was usually Rogue.

That's why Gray found himself trying to bring up the subject while he was in the library with the dark-haired teen.

Currently, Rogue was engrossed in a book and had barely said two words to him.

"So," Gray began as he cleared his throat, "I heard our ranks will be posted by the end of the week since Midterms will be calculated by then."

"Hm."

"What…rank do you think you'll get?"

"First," answered Rogue as he turned a page of his book.

Gray felt his eye twitch. _Cocky much?_ "What makes you think you'll be in first?"

"I was always first at my last school."

"Sabertooth, right?"

Rogue nodded.

"You know, I'm always first here."

The dark-haired teen marked the page he'd just been reading in his book, closed it, and raised his head. "Is there something you needed to speak with me about? You hardly ever engage in small talk, and what you're doing right now _is_ small talk."

Gray felt like a deer caught in headlights. "Um…well, you see…"

"Just say what you need to say," Rogue said in exasperation.

"You're always around Natsu!" he blurted.

Rogue gripped his book tightly, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Gray. "What's your point?"

"I just wanted to know…why you're hanging around him so much lately. You two are always together now. Invel's gone so you don't have to worry about him anymore. And I haven't seen you speak to Sting in about a week. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you and Natsu were dating," he said with a short laugh before becoming extremely serious. "You're not, right?"

"I'm not dating Natsu. We're just friends," Rogue replied quietly.

Gray sighed in relief. "Okay. And you're hanging out with him all the time instead of Sting because…?"

Rogue remained quiet.

"Did you two get into a fight?"

"No. It's…complicated."

"Can you make it uncomplicated? Because right now, you're making things for me _very_ complicated."

"Excuse me?!"

"I didn't mean for that to sound like it did!" Gray said hurriedly when he noticed Rogue's heated glare. "It's just that Sting's been moping this past week. He won't leave me alone. He looks all depressed and shit all the time. I mean, he hasn't even tried to hit on Natsu in about two weeks or so."

"He…hasn't?"

Gray shook his head. "Then Natsu's always with you and it's hard to get him alone."

"Alone," said Rogue, looking a tad curious. "What do you need him alone for?"

Gray found the floor really interesting at that point. "Um…I wanted him alone so I could…a-ask him…out." He paused in order to gauge Rogue's response.

"It's about time," said Rogue with a small smile.

"Huh?"

"I'll try to give you two some space. You know, so you can pop the question," he laughed.

Gray fumed. "I want to ask him on a date, not marry me!"

"Yet."

"Shut up!"

* * *

"I _hate_ field trips," Gray seethed through his teeth as he and the other students left the school bus. "Who the hell decided to have a field trip right before summer break, anyway?"

Dust swarmed around everyone's feet as they stared up at the foreboding sign that read _Frontier Town_. With their school deeming it educational for them to see what life was like on the American frontier, their lovely educators had signed them up for a day in the life of a cowboy.

Complete with costume.

"Remind me when we get back home to kill someone," Gray continued to rant.

Natsu just rolled his eyes. "Would you lighten up? It's gonna be fun." _Plus, I might get to see you in chaps._

Gray remained expressionless. "I hope they put you in a dress," he deadpanned.

"I'm a guy! They're not gonna put me in a dress!"

* * *

Gray growled as he fought with the stupid costumed he'd been forced to wear for the day. It consisted of a dark shirt with a black vest and chain, dark pants with a belt, black cowboy boots, a red bandana around his neck, a black cowboy hat, and a leather duster coat. It made him look like some kind of outlaw.

"This is so great!" Gajeel cackled.

Gray chanced a glance at the others, who also had pleased expressions. "What are you guys laughing about now?"

Rogue's eyes immediately beamed, becoming amused. "They ran out of cowboy costumes."

"And?"

"And," continued Gajeel, "a certain _someone_ is being forced into a saloon girl costume."

"…"

Gajeel's laughter died down as he only received a glare in response. Clearing his throat, he said, "It's Natsu."

Well, it seemed dreams did come true. "Move," Gray said curtly, nearly throwing Gajeel out of way so he could find Natsu. Stepping out of the building they'd been changing in, they went outside in search of the pink-haired teen.

And found him throwing a tantrum in front on Lucy.

But Gray's jaw only dropped as he took in Natsu's appearance. He wore a blue dress with a crinoline and long sleeves; however, his shoulders and neck were completely exposed save for a choker around his neck. In addition to that, Natsu wore black fishnet stockings, heels, and a garter around his right thigh.

"Gray! Look what they made me wear!" Natsu cried before snapping his attention to Sting. "You better not be having any dirty thoughts, you bastard!"

"Me? Dirty thoughts? Never," Sting replied with a smirk.

Rogue's smile faltered somewhat. _I guess he's back to normal now_.

Natsu promptly took off one of his heels and chucked it at Sting's head, but he merely ducked.

"Natsu, put your shoe back on. We have a lot to do today without you causing a showdown," quipped Wakaba-sensei, who looked rather disgruntled. And he kept mumbling something about a bet.

Natsu hobbled over to his discarded show and put it back on.

"And by the way," he continued, "you walk very well in heels. Have you done this before?"

The pink-haired teen screamed while Wakaba-sensei laughed quietly to himself and moved on. "All right, students. There are many things we'll be doing today. But one of the first things we'll need to do is determine a few roles. We'll need to select a sheriff and an outlaw."

Grumbling occurred amongst the students.

"And since I realize no one will jump at the opportunity, I've decided to have a little showdown of our own to determine those roles. Gray? Sting? Follow me."

The two just stared at him.

"I am _not_ participating in this," ground out Gray.

"Yes, you will. Your grade is dependent on it. Now follow me so you can select your weapon."

"Weapon?" Sting echoed unsurely.

"Ooh! I want to be an outlaw!" Gajeel shouted. Levy glared him into silence.

By now, Wakaba-sensei was losing his patience. "Follow me or I'll drag you there myself!" he shouted.

Gray and Sting decided that humoring him was better than enduring any wrath he could bring upon them, so they followed him into what looked like a general store. There, on a counter, lay an assortment of guns.

"Select your weapon," he instructed. "You're going to have a duel. Whoever wins will be the sheriff, and the loser will obviously be the outlaw."

"We're going to _shoot_ each other?!" Sting asked, alarmed.

"Yes," Wakaba-sensei answered matter-of-factly.

"Are you insane?!"

"Not according to my doctor," he mumbled as he turned away before handing them each a gun. "You're taking too long. And besides, they're filled with blanks, not _real_ bullets."

"Oh," replied Sting, looking embarrassed.

"Now get out there and duel," Wakaba-sensei insisted, shoving them out of the general store. "Go!"

The two stared at each other before walking out onto the dusty path between the buildings, the other students hanging around them, watching.

"You need more distance between yourselves," instructed Wakaba-sensei. "Once you do that, start shooting until someone loses."

"But…if they're filled with blanks, how do we determine a loser?" asked Sting.

"Just do as I say!" he hissed.

Gray and Sting increased the distance between them until they were about thirty feet from each other. Gray, with the gun at his side, just stared at Sting as if he couldn't be bothered.

"Um…I guess I'll…shoot now?" started Sting, looking unsure.

"…"

Sting raised his gun, aimed it at Gray, and fired.

A loud bang sounded in the area, causing everyone to flinch and cover their ears. Everyone except Gray. Sting faltered when the teen raised his gun at him and glared.

"You don't have to look so serious, Gray."

"I'm going to shoot you," he deadpanned.

"They're filed with blanks. You can't really shoot me."

"Do you really believe that _my_ gun is filled with blanks?"

"Yes," Sting chuckled. Then he sobered up when he noticed Gray glare even harder. "Isn't it?" he squeaked.

"You'll see," he said, aiming for Sting's head.

"Fine! You win! I'll be the outlaw! Just don't shoot me!" he shouted as he dove behind a barrel.

Gray put the gun away and smirked. "You really need to learn to call a bluff."

* * *

"All right," said Wakaba-sensei inside the saloon. His eyes panned over his students. "While Sting gets set up with his outlaw business, we're going to have a little fun. Wait. Where are Gajeel and Cana? Oh, well. We'll start without them."

"Why do I get the feeling that his definition of fun is the same as torture for us," mumbled Natsu.

"Because he's a menace," quipped Gray.

"Come on. I think this is fun," stated Rogue.

"I want all the boys to get up on the stage. We're going to do a little song and dance number!"

"I take that back," grumbled the dark-haired teen.

"What cowboys have you seen where they were singing and dancing together in a saloon?" argued Gray. He didn't want to do this crap anymore.

Wakaba-sensei's eye twitched. "I happen to be a fan of the movie _Robin Hood: Men in Tights_. And the song that they sing I just so happen to enjoy. But instead of singing _Men in Tights_ , you will be singing _Men in Chaps_ while doing the can-can. Questions?"

It was Gray's turn to start twitching. "If you make me do _any_ of that, I will become an outlaw this very minute and burn this stupid ass town to the ground!"

"Fine. You may sit this one out," he said, turning a hardened glare to the rest of the group. He would win his bet against Gildarts-sensei even if it killed him. "On the stage! Now!"

* * *

 _ **Men in Chaps**_ **Performance**

* * *

Gray didn't know what to say after he witnessed _that_ performance. He gave a hesitant glance over in Wakaba-sensei's direction. "You _recorded_ them?"

The man immediately hid something in his jacket. "No," he replied. _You don't have twenty-thousand yen riding on this_. He looked back at his students. "That was excellent!"

 _Bang!_

Everyone jumped when the saloon doors were kicked open, revealing Gajeel. But the teen didn't realize that the doors could move back, so they knocked him out of the doorway. A little more scuffling later, Gajeel reemerged with Cana at his side with Sting tied up and gagged.

"What're you doing, Gajeel?" Levy asked with an exasperated sigh.

"We're outlaws," announced Cana.

"Yes. And this town isn't big enough for the two of us," added Gajeel with a grin.

"…"

"…does anyone else hear the cricket?" asked Natsu.

"Gajeel, that doesn't even make any sense," said Levy, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Huh? What doesn't?"

"You said that this town isn't big enough for the two of us. There are more than two people present."

"You know what I mean!" Gajeel roared. "And I'm an outlaw, so anything I say goes!"

"Do something," said Natsu, looking over at Gray. "You're the sheriff."

"So."

The pink-haired teen glared at him before taking off his shoe—again—and throwing it at Gajeel, nailing him in the head.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?!"

"Someone's gotta stop you!"

"By hitting me in the head with a shoe? Ow! Stop throwing shoes at me! No! Put down the damn chair!" screamed Gajeel as he ran from Natsu, chair in his hands.

Groaning, Gray took out the gun he'd been given and fired it. The loud bang startled Natsu so much, he accidently hit Gajeel with the chair. After it shattered, all hell broke loose.

"Let's get out of here," Natsu said hurriedly, taking Gray's arm and dragging him out of the saloon as the stereotypical bar fight began. Rogue watched them go and gave Gray a small, encouraging smile.

"Only _you_ would be able to start a saloon brawl."

"It was an accident!" Natsu insisted heatedly, his face reddening in anger.

Gray just smirked, growing bold. "Have I told you how sexy you look right now?"

"What did you say?!" Natsu exclaimed, his face heating up considerably.

"I'm just messing with you," said Gray, averting his eyes.

"Oh." Natsu had to admit, he felt a little disappointed. "So you don't think I'm sexy?"

"No. I mean yes!" he said at the expression on Natsu's face. "I mean…I don't know what I mean! What was the question again?"

Taking a chance, Natsu stepped closer to Gray, their noses nearly touching. "I asked if you thought I was sexy."

"Uh."

"Do you…" he started to ask, his breath mingling with Gray's, "…think I'm…sexy?"

Gray could feel butterflies in his stomach. If any time was a perfect moment, this was it.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Gajeel shouted as he tackled Natsu to the ground.

"YOU PIERCED BASTARD!" Natsu retaliated. Then the two began wrestling, a dust cloud billowing about them.

Gray dropped to his knees. He had been close. _So_ close. And Gajeel had to go and ruin the moment. God, he hated field trips.

* * *

"I passed!" Natsu screamed, tears streaming down his face as he looked at the notice board. "I don't have to take remedial classes this summer!"

Rogue smiled gently at him and patted him on the shoulder. "That's excellent news, Natsu," he said before turning his attention to the board to confirm his rank. His heart suddenly slammed against his chest.

"Hey! Look at that! You're in first! Congrats, Rogue!" said Natsu.

"Yes," he replied somberly. But he was tied with Gray Fullbuster. Tied. How was he going to explain this at home?

* * *

Rogue hesitantly opened up the door to his Uncle Jiemma's house—or home, as he liked to pretend to call it. Stepping inside, he carefully closed it behind him.

"Well?" announced his uncle from the living room. "Your rank?"

The dark-haired teen nervously approached the large man. "I came in first, but…"

"But?" Jiemma snapped his head in his nephew's direction, taking in the cowering appearance with distaste. "Spit it out."

"I tied with someone. Gray Fullbuster."

"Gray Fullbuster, hm?"

 _Smack!_

Rogue placed a hand to his stinging cheek in shock.

"And why are you tied with this Gray Fullbuster? I told you the second I took you in after your father passed that I expect nothing less than perfection. My daughter Minerva—your cousin—was always at the top of her class. And she still is at university. What's your excuse?"

"But…sir. We both obtained maximum scores. There would have been no way to—."

 _SMACK!_

Rogue staggered back from the force of the slap. Tears stung his eyes, but he wouldn't let them fall. Not here. That would be a sign of weakness and his own undoing.

"Useless," Jiemma stated as he sat down on the couch. "You have five minutes. Pack and get out."

Rogue froze. Pack? Get out? Because he'd tied for first? "Why?"

"I expect nothing less than perfection," Jiemma snapped. "You've proved you're less than that, so get out."

"Wh-Where am I supposed to go?"

"You're eighteen now. You figure it out," stated Jiemma harshly. "I should've never taken you in."

Rogue opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"Four minutes."

Apparently he didn't need words. Rogue turned on his heel and headed to his room to…pack.

* * *

Rogue didn't know how long he'd been wandering the streets of Magnolia, his duffel bag in hand. He'd been traveling aimlessly for about an hour now. The sun had already set, and the shock of what had happened was only just wearing off.

Rogue felt the panic begin like a cluster of spark plugs in his abdomen. Tension grew in his face and limbs, his mind replaying what had happened with Jiemma. He dropped his bag, his breathing becoming more rapid, shallower.

In this moment, he understood that he needed to stop his primal urge to flee. Whipping out his phone, he shakily hit speed-dial for Sting.

No answer.

He called again, his heart racing even faster. No answer.

Again.

No answer.

Again.

No answer.

No Sting.

Rogue's eyes scanned his other contacts and the panic grew. In seconds he was curled up on the ground, his only movement the trembling of his limbs and salty tears darkening his sleeves. There he stayed, unaware of the cries for help and the sound of sirens in the distance.

* * *

The first day of summer break and Sting had no idea what to do. He kicked a rock into the street and continued walking aimlessly around. Last night had been loads of fun, he thought bitterly.

His dad had decided to leave on a business trip for the summer and had accidentally packed Sting's phone!

"Stupid dad," he mumbled under his breath. How the hell was he going to call people up now?

"I finally found you!" Gray shouted, panting as he rested his hands on his knees.

"Were you looking for me?" Sting questioned.

"Everyone's been looking for you! Why haven't you been answering your damn phone?! We thought something happened to you, too!" Gray snapped.

"My dad went on a trip and packed my damn phone in his…wait. What do you mean me too?"

Gray raised himself up, his expression becoming somber. "Rogue's in the hospital. He has been since last night."

Sting felt his heart beat erratically in his chest. "Wh-What happened?"

"The doctors said he had a panic attack. The hospital got a hold of Makarov-sensei when his uncle refused to come. And apparently when Rogue came to his senses, he kept asking for you. Makarov-sensei called everyone in a frenzy trying t figure out where you were. We've been searching everywhere for you. Natsu's with Rogue now, I think," replied Gray as he took out his phone. He quickly sent a text signaling the end of the search.

"Rogue," Sting said, his mind whirring. "Take me…take me to…"

Gray grabbed Sting's arm and pulled him along. "I'll get you to him. Don't worry."

* * *

By the time they reached the hospital, Sting didn't know what to do.

"Hey," said Gray. "I'm gonna head to the cafeteria to get something to eat. Are you gonna be okay by yourself?" He hated to admit that he was slightly worried about Sting at the moment.

Sting nodded, so Gray left him. Steadying himself, he made his way to the front desk before something in the gift shop caught his eye. That was so… _Rogue_.

Quickly making his purchase and shoving it nervously into the gift bag he'd obtained, he approached the front desk a second time.

"Hi," he started. "I'm looking for a patient. Rogue Cheney?"

The receptionist looked up at him and smiled sweetly. "Another visitor? My, that cutie has lots of handsome friends. He's in room 256."

"Thank you."

The walk to room 256 was a long one, and it left Sting to his troubled thoughts. What if Rogue had tried to call him? What if Rogue had needed his help? What if Rogue thought he was ignoring him? What if Rogue thought he didn't care for him?

But he _did_ care for Rogue. He really did! The second Gray told him Rogue was in the hospital, he'd nearly had a heart attack.

He couldn't imagine his life without Rogue. The past week was enough to nearly kill him, what with Rogue ignoring him and all that.

Rogue was everything to him. He'd been with him through thick and thin. He was always by his side, supporting him, caring for him. Why couldn't Rogue see he appreciated him for all that?! Why couldn't Rogue see that he cared for him, too?! Why didn't he see that he loved him?!

Sting halted in his steps. _Love him?_ Those two words spread a pleasantly warm feeling throughout his body. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach and his face heated up. _Do I…love him? I can't love Rogue. I love Natsu…don't I?_

The minute he thought of Natsu, the warm feeling faded and the butterflies settled. The pleasant feeling was gone.

He thought of Rogue again, the way his face lit up when he was happy, the way he glared at him when he was angry, the way his lip jutted out when he pouted, the way his eyes stared into his very soul as if he knew everything about him, which he probably did.

Sting's hand clutched at the material of his shirt just above his heart. "I think…I love…Rogue," he whispered. "I'm…in love…with…Rogue?"

He thought back to how he'd treated Natsu when he'd declared his love for him. This…was different. His thoughts about Rogue were different. They were deeper, more refined.

And if he was seriously in love with Rogue, there was no way in hell he could treat him as he'd done Natsu. Rogue was…special. Rogue was special and deserved to be treated as such.

* * *

Natsu stared helplessly at Rogue. He hadn't said a word to him about what happened at all. "Gray texted. He said he found Sting."

Rogue slowly made eye contact with him. "He did? Is he coming? Is Sting coming?" he asked quietly.

"Of course he is. Why wouldn't he?"

"I kept pushing him away, Natsu," Rogue said in a shaky breath. "What if he's angry with me and won't come because of that? What if I ruined everything?"

"Rogue, there is no way on earth I would _ever_ be angry with you," came Sting's smooth voice from the doorway.

Natsu got up and made for the door. "I'll leave you two alone then."

"You…came," said Rogue, staring up at Sting apprehensively.

"Of course I came. Did you really think I wouldn't?"

Rogue inhaled sharply. "I-I called you last night. Over and over again. I needed you, and you didn't answer."

Sting dropped his bag next to the hospital bed and hurriedly sat on the edge of it. He placed his arms around Rogue and pulled him into his arms, hugging him close. "I'm sorry about that. But don't think it was because I was ignoring you. My dad accidentally packed my phone with him before he left on his trip. He has it. I swear to you, that if I'd had my phone when you called, I would have answered it."

Sting felt Rogue tremble slightly before timidly returning his hug. "Okay."

"You have no idea how scared I was," Sting admitted, pulling Rogue even closer. The incredibly warm feeling was back. He inhaled Rogue's scent deeply. "When Gray told me you were here, I nearly had a heart attack."

"You were worried about me?" asked Rogue, breaking the hug so he could look into Sting's eyes.

"Yes," he replied, raising his right hand to cup Rogue's face. He brushed a stray tear away with his thumb.

"Why?"

"Because I…" Sting couldn't tell him he loved him. Not yet. "I _care_ about you, Rogue." He leaned forward, resting his forehead against his best friend's. "You're special to me."

Sting's words made Rogue's heart flutter, but was it worth getting his hopes up?

"Aren't…you going to ask me what happened?" asked Rogue.

"No," Sting replied softly. He noticed Rogue's hurt expression at that and quickly remedied his answer. "You'll tell me when you're ready and feel you can trust me enough to do so."

"Sting, I do trust you," Rogue cut in, trying to assuage his fears.

"I know," he replied, giving him a sad smile. "But not enough to share everything with me. I don't believe that's your fault. It's mine. I'm the one who made you feel you couldn't trust me."

Rogue closed his eyes, wishing he could go back in time and tell Sting about Invel. He hadn't realized he'd hurt Sting so deeply.

"I got you something," said Sting as he reluctantly pulled away from Rogue. He reached over the side of the bed and lifted the pink gift bag he'd set down earlier.

Rogue glared at him. "I'm not a girl, Sting."

"Pink was the only color they had left!" he explained. "Just open the damn thing," he said as he crossed his arms, looking embarrassed.

Still skeptical, Rogue reached into the bag and pulled out a small stuffed animal. It looked like a green cat dressed in a pink frog costume, and it was big enough to fit in both hands.

"Sting," started Rogue, garnering the other's attention, "it's adorable."

 _It's official_ , Sting thought as he swallowed hard. _I'm in love with Rogue. I feel so stupidly happy that he's happy. It makes me want to kiss him. But I can't do that to Rogue. He doesn't like me like that. But I'll get him to…somehow._

"You like it?"

"I love it," replied Rogue, a pleased smile on his face. "I'm going to name him Frosch."

"Frosch?"

"It means frog in German," he said, hugging the stuffed animal to his chest. "Thank you, Sting."

And that's when Sting made a decision. He was going to devote every minute of every day to wooing Rogue. He loved him, and he wanted Rogue to feel the same.

"Let's get you discharged, okay?" announced Sting as he rose from the hospital bed.

"Discharged?" Suddenly, Rogue's expression changed. "I don't…I don't have anywhere to go."

Sting placed his hand on Rogue's head and smiled. "You're staying with me," he said. "I already talked it over with Makarov-sensei. He needed to know where you'd be. Are…you okay with that?"

Rogue hugged Frosch and nodded.

"Okay. We'll do the discharge papers, and then we'll go home."

Home. Rogue guessed that was anywhere Sting was. He truly was the light to his darkness.

* * *

 **End Chapter**


	16. Chapter 16

**Fan Club**

* * *

Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail

* * *

 **Author's Note** : Bwahahahaha!

* * *

 **Chapter 16**

"Did you two work everything out?"

Sting paused the moment he left Rogue's hospital room, grounded by Natsu's voice. "We talked."

Natsu walked up to him. "At least that's a start."

Contemplating his next words, Sting scratched the back of his head nervously. He looked Natsu in the eyes, searching them in hopes that he could confirm that he really didn't love him like he did Rogue.

Sure, Natsu was hot as hell. It was the main reason he'd upped and left Sabertooth to come after him. But was that all? Just physical attraction? Maybe what he felt for Natsu was only…lust?

"Hello?" the pink-haired teen said, waving his hand in front of Sting's face when he seemed lost in thought.

"Oh. Uh, sorry about that. I've got a lot on my mind."

"I'll say," replied Natsu. "Are you two good, then?"

"I think we are," Sting admitted. "He's gonna stay with me for the time being."

Natsu wasn't too sure if this was a good idea. He knew of Rogue's feelings for the person before him. "Is that really okay?"

"Why wouldn't it be? Rogue seems to be fine with it."

"I…just want to make sure he's in the right hands. He's been through a lot lately."

"I know," said Sting, running his hand through his hair. "I feel like it's partly my fault. I want to make it up to him somehow."

Natsu smiled sadly. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Thanks."

* * *

Natsu left the hospital feeling uneasy about Rogue's new situation. Would he really be okay staying with Sting? Wouldn't it make things…worse for him?

"Hey! Wait up!"

Natsu turned to find Gray jogging up to him. "Hey, Gray. Thanks for finding Sting. I think Rogue was happy you did. He _is_ staying with him now, after all," he mumbled.

"Well, that's good, right?"

"We'll see," said Natsu as he began walking again.

"Um…Natsu?" Gray called, approaching the pink-haired teen anxiously. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?" Natsu replied curiously.

Gray began fidgeting nervously. "Do you want to…um…would you…?"

"Just spit it out, Gray."

"Would you like to come over to my place to celebrate us passing our Midterms?" Gray mentally slapped himself. Why couldn't he just ask him out?! Fuck his damn nerves!

"You want to hang out?" Natsu replied. "Just…the two of us?" _Alone?! Oh, hell yes!_

"Yeah. We…are friends, right?"

 _A~nd friend-zoned._ Natsu nodded while he internally cried. "Yeah. We're friends."

Gray beamed. "Then let's go to my place." Taking things one step at a time was probably the best way to go.

* * *

"You already know your way around the place," said Sting as they entered the house. "So make yourself at home."

Rogue took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He'd been here hundreds of times, but it just felt different somehow. "Can…we talk for a bit?"

"Sure," replied Sting, leading Rogue to the couch. Once they were both seated comfortably, he continued. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I appreciate you not pressuring me for information, even though I know it's probably driving you a bit crazy," admitted Rogue. "And I don't believe I've been fair to you. I've been keeping secrets from you."

"You had your reasons, though, right?" responded Sting, placing his arms around the back of the couch.

Rogue's expression became troubled. "But I shouldn't have kept anything from you. We're…friends, right?"

"Yes. You're my _best_ friend," emphasized Sting. _Even though I think I want something more with you now._

"That's what makes it so hard," sighed Rogue as he stared at the far wall. "We're best friends, so I should have been telling you my secrets. But at the same time, I didn't want to burden you with my problems when you're so wrapped up in your own."

Sting was surprised by Rogue's deduction. "And what problems do you think I'm wrapped up in?"

Rogue swallowed hard, nervous about what he was going to say next. "Your attention is always on Natsu. And when it isn't, it's usually on this rivalry thing you have with Gray _over_ Natsu. You don't have time…for me."

"That's not true!" Sting blurted. Before he even realized what he was doing, he grabbed Rogue by the shoulders. "Look at me." When he did, Sting continued. "I'm sorry I've made you feel as though you weren't worth my time. You are! The past few weeks have really given me a chance to think about everything, and I've realized that I've been a total jerk, especially to you.

"I was obsessed with Natsu, so I transferred schools. You followed. You were always there supporting me, even though I acted like a total jackass along the way. But I never meant to make you feel insignificant.

"We used to tell each other everything, Rogue," Sting paused, a hurt expression crossing his features. "We were so close. And then it felt like it just all went away one day. I want that back. I want to be close to you again."

Rogue felt his pulse quicken. "I want that, too." _But I also want more._

"Good," said Sting finally. "I know it's going to take a while for you to fully trust me again, but I'm willing to wait until you're ready to open up to me. Rogue, I'm not going to pressure you."

"I believe you," replied Rogue, sitting closer to Sting. "I think…I want to try telling you some things now."

Sting placed his arm around the dark-haired teen's shoulders. "Just know that I want you to feel comfortable enough with me to share what you're experiencing. Don't force yourself into anything before you're ready."

"I…I know that. But I need to talk to someone, and I want that person to be you."

Sting gave his friends a comforting squeeze. "If that's what you want. I'm here for you."

Rogue's hands fidgeted in his lap. "I…I didn't tell you about Invel because I was afraid of what you'd say," he started. "He'd been asking me out for weeks. He was really persistent. I thought if I told you, you'd just tell me to give it a chance."

"I wouldn't have done that," Sting protested.

"You did when Loke made that lewd comment at me during Spirit Week."

He had actually forgotten about that. Now he remembered. He'd told Rogue to give it a chance, and the dark-haired teen had responded by saying he didn't like him. Was Sting really that pushy? "I'm sorry, Rogue. Honestly. I wasn't being considerate of your feelings."

"What's done is done," replied Rogue before he continued his story. "But then Invel started making threats and…you were preoccupied. I thought I could handle it on my own."

"Rogue—."

"But if I'd told someone sooner, then maybe the locker room incident wouldn't have happened. I'd never felt so _helpless_ before. Invel pinned me down. I couldn't move. I was literally at his mercy. I-If Natsu hadn't come back…" Rogue didn't even want to finish the thought.

"He _did_ come back," asserted Sting, rubbing his hand up and down Rogue's arm tenderly. "So you don't need to think about what would've happened if he didn't, okay?"

Rogue nodded in response.

"Is…Is it okay if I ask what happened that resulted in you ending up in the hospital?" Sting questioned apprehensively.

"It's fine," answered Rogue. "You deserve to know."

"Then take your time."

Sighing, Rogue said, "My uncle was displeased with the fact that I tied for first in the school rankings. Ever since he took me in after my father died, he's expected nothing less than perfection. So he decided that since I tied with someone, I'd sullied that image. He…slapped me a couple times and told me to get out. I only had five minutes to pack. I threw everything I possibly could into my duffel bag before he dragged me out of the house.

"Then I ended up wandering the streets. I didn't know where to go or what to do. Eventually, the reality of my situation sank in, and I started to panic. I called you over and over again, but you never answered. I know now that it was because you didn't have your phone. And then all I remember was curling up on the ground and blacking out."

"And you ended up in the hospital," finished Sting solemnly.

"Someone on the sidewalk must've called an ambulance, because the only thing I remember after that is waking up in the hospital with Makarov-sensei hovering over me."

"I'm just glad you're safe," said Sting, feeling utterly relieved. "You have no idea what went through my head when Gray told me you were in the hospital. I'm never letting you out of my sight ever again."

Rogue wasn't sure if he was being serious or teasing, but he still murmured, "I'll hold you to that."

"There's the Rogue I know," he said, poking the dark-haired teen in the cheek. "Always keeping me accountable."

Rogue smiled slightly and averted his gaze. "Do you mind if I take a nap now? I'm still a bit tired."

"Sure," replied Sting softly with a warm grin. But before he could suggest that Rogue take his father's room for the time being, the dark-haired teen got up and made a beeline for his bedroom.

Sting followed him in anticipation, watching anxiously as Rogue dropped his duffel bag in the corner of his room and flopped backward onto his bed with Frosch—that little plushie Rogue had become quite taken with—clutched to his chest.

Sting swallowed hard. This was going to be difficult. He'd only just realized his amorous feelings for Rogue. And now he just looked so damned tempting lying sprawled out on his bed, his dark hair feathered around his soft features. How on earth was he going to survive this?

"Are you all right, Sting?" Rogue asked, voice laced with concern when he noticed the odd expression in his friend's eyes.

"Yeah. I'm fine," he replied. "Just get some rest, okay?"

* * *

 _Hanging out together should not be this difficult_ , Gray thought glumly as he realized the situation they were in outside of his house.

"This isn't my fault," Natsu stated immediately as he eyed Gray up and down.

The teen grit his teeth, seething as his ankle pounded. "Of course it's your fault! If you hadn't hit me with that damn pinecone, forcing me to chase you, this wouldn't have happened!"

Natsu glared. "Well, if you hadn't insulted me, which made me throw the pinecone at you, which then made you chase me, you wouldn't have fallen in a squirrel hole!"

"…a what?" Gray deadpanned. He glanced down at the hole his foot was currently stuck in.

"A squirrel hole. Your foot's stuck in one."

Gray continued to stare, the pain in his ankle continuing to rivet through him. And that's when he felt it. Something was tugging on his shoe.

"Help me! Get me out of this!" Gray shouted as he began to struggle.

"Stop strug—!"

"I will not be eaten by squirrels!"

"They're not gonna eat you! They might have rabies, but—."

"Wrong! I know for a fact that there are some rats that will eat the soles of your feet if you don't take the proper precautions! I doubt squirrels are any different! Fuck!"

Natsu sighed in mild annoyance. "What now?"

"I think it's chewing through my shoe!"

"It's not—."

"Yes, it is! I can feel its head! It's touching me!"

The pink-haired teen stepped over to Gray and said, "Hold still."

"Just shut up and help me!"

"I can't if you keep struggling! It's just gonna put you in more pain, and it'll piss the squirrel off even more!"

At that, Gray stilled. "Just hurry up," he ground out.

Natsu crouched next to the teen, hovering a bit over his leg. Gray's foot was definitely stuck in the hole. Up to his ankle, at least. And it looked like his ankle was already starting to swell.

"Hurry," Gray hissed.

"I got it. Don't worry," mumbled Natsu. He gingerly reached for Gray's ankle and pulled.

"Careful! That hurts!"

"Shut up or I'm gonna let the damn squirrels eat you!" Natsu snapped back. When he saw Gray clench his jaw, he turned back and continued pulling out the teen's foot from the hole. "Ah, crap," he said when Gray's foot was finally free.

"What?" Gray questioned immediately.

"Um…don't…just don't move, okay?"

"What? Why?"

"Just…don't move!" the pink-haired teen insisted as he semi-straddled his waist so that Gray couldn't see his legs.

"Tell me," seethed Gray.

"Well, the squirrel did chew your shoe. Through it, actually. And…I guess you can feel it, huh?"

That's when Gray noticed it. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Its head is in my shoe, isn't it?"

"Yeah…"

"Get it out. Get it out now," Gray stated, panic rising in his voice.

"I-I'll try, but you need to keep still." _How the hell am I gonna get a fucking squirrel out of his shoe?!_

Natsu reached out to touch the squirrel, but as soon as his fingers met fur, the squirrel started struggling.

"Fuck! Just yank it out!" shouted Gray.

"Don't struggle!"

"You keep saying that and have yet to get rid of that fucking squirrel! Do something!"

"Uh—okay! Uh, good squirrel. That's a good boy," started Natsu as he began petting the squirrel.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm trying to comfort it, asshole! You're hurt, and it's wild and crazy. If I calm it down, maybe I can get it out without the damn thing biting you."

"Just hurry the fuck up," groaned Gray. He couldn't take much more of this. The squirrel and the provocative stance the pink-haired teen was in. He wasn't quite sure which situation was worse: the squirrel possibly eating his foot, or the hard-on he was about to get from staring at Natsu's ass.

Natsu—unaware of Gray's internal struggles—continued to coo as he pet the squirrel. Gradually, the squirrel began to relax. And when it did, he grabbed its tail and yanked it out.

" _Tackatackatacka!_ " the squirrel screeched as it ran off.

Natsu collapsed backward onto the ground. "Happy now?"

"Not really, but I'll live," replied Gray as he positioned himself in the same manner, willing away the image of Natsu's former position so as not to create any awkwardness between them.

But their moment of relaxation was short-lived.

" _Tackatackatacka!_ "

"Ah, shit!" cried Natsu as he scrambled to his feet, pulling Gray to his own in the process. "It called in reinforcements!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" shouted Gray as he eyed the army of squirrels that now raced toward them. "Don't you dare leave me, flamebrain!"

"If you stop calling me flamebrain, I won't let you hobble for your life!"

"Deal!"

" _Tackatackatacka!_ "

* * *

Rogue rubbed his eyes and sighed, wondering vaguely what he should have for dinner, only to freeze when he saw Sting beginning to scrape something into the garbage can. "What is that?"

Sting froze, eyes wide, before he glanced away ineptly. "Well, it… _was_ your dinner. I was trying to make your favorite food."

The dark-haired teen stared at the crumbly wet mess. "I appreciate the gesture, really."

"I mixed up sugar for salt, and I forgot to put the egg in it," Sting stated, pouting at him. "The next batch should be fine!"

"Okay," Rogue muttered skeptically.

Sting huffed in embarrassment. "Oh, shut up." He began pouring his new batch of waffle batter into the waffle iron.

Rogue caught his hand and jerked the bowl upward. "Sting, you still need to close it."

"Oh. I thought it was like an egg. Like…you cook it from the bottom, and it'll cook all the way to the top."

"No. You close it so both sides cook evenly," said Rogue. He hesitantly dipped his finger into the batter and gave it a quick taste. "Sting?"

"Yeah?"

"You failed to use sugar again. This is baking soda."

Sting let out a groan and dumped his newest batch into the garbage can, too. Slamming the waffle iron down, he turned his attention to Rogue. "Will you go out with me?" he asked, suddenly very serious.

Rogue froze, heat pooling in his cheeks. "Wh-What?"

"To get something to eat. I'm failing at this whole cooking for you thing."

"O-Oh. That's fine. We can go get something," Rogue replied, his face reddening for a different reason. Seriously, what on earth had he been thinking?

* * *

Natsu plopped an ice pack down on Gray's swollen ankle. "You feeling any better?"

"I am both physically and mentally drained," Gray groaned from his spot on the couch. "This is not how I planned the day would go."

"You know, I don't think anyone really plans on being attacked by an army of squirrels. But we lived through it, didn't we?" he said with a huge grin plastered to his face.

"Just barely," Gray grumbled. "Thanks for getting me into the house. And for the ice pack. But you don't have to stay and look after me."

"It's okay. I'm probably going to be spending the night, anyway," replied Natsu nonchalantly.

Gray felt his heart slam against his chest. He desperately willed away the blush that dared stain his cheeks. "Wh-Why?"

Natsu pointed his thumb in the direction of the window. "The squirrels are still sitting out there…waiting…"

"You can't be serious."

"You should really call somebody to handle it before they eat their way into the house," Natsu stated seriously.

Gray resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Since you want to…stay the night, I assume we're having a sleepover?"

"Yep!" _It'll give me a chance to be close to you since we're all alone._

Gray weighed his options. For the most part, this was like a dream come true. He'd get to spend some alone time with Natsu. On the other hand, there were just some things about himself he _really_ didn't want Natsu to know. It would really blow his chances with him.

"I'm gonna go to your room and bring down some stuff to keep us entertained. You've got to have games or something. I doubt you want to try hobbling your way up there, anyway."

Before Gray could voice his protest, Natsu was already gone. Burying his face in his hands, he prayed that the pink-haired teen stayed away from his closet. He couldn't bear the thought of what Natsu would think of him if he discovered the secrets that rested within.

* * *

When Sting had said that he wanted to take Rogue out to dinner, he was okay with it.

And when they reached the place the teen had talked about—and Rogue discovered that it was called _Sweetheart Café_ —he'd been a little hesitant.

But when they'd been led to their table—their seating arrangement being that of a small, heart-shaped booth where they were nearly touching one another—the dark-haired teen was about ready to make a run for it.

Sting, on the other hand, fiddled with the menu once given one by the waitress, careful to avoid touching Rogue. But he was just so _close_. It would be hard _not_ to touch him. In other words, Sting wanted to touch him, but he was terrified of what his brain would tell him if he did.

"Sting?" started Rogue.

Wait. Rogue was talking to him. He should probably answer. "Huh? Yes?"

"Um…" The dark-haired teen fumbled for the right words. "Why did you bring us…here?"

Sting cocked his head to the side and stared at him. "I figured you needed to go some place where you didn't need to worry about running into anyone from school."

"But…it seems like a place for…c-couples," replied Rogue as he peered over his menu, gauging Sting's reaction.

"You're probably right," Sting said slowly before becoming a bit bold. "So I guess I'll be the one who's paying."

"Um…okay?" said Rogue unsurely. It wasn't like he had much money on him anyway. Was Sting trying to hint at something? If so, what?

"And don't worry," started Sting in a teasing tone. "I won't go anywhere past first base."

Suddenly, Rogue became confused. "First base?"

Sting stared at him blankly. "Please tell me you know what that means," the teen exhaled.

At the shake of Rogue's head, Sting felt like bashing his head in. _Why does he have to be so damn innocent? Doesn't he realize that just makes him…cuter? Gah! Why does he have to be so cute when he's confused?!_

"Okay. I'm only gonna say this once."

Rogue nodded to indicate he was listening.

"When it comes to romantic relationships, there are four bases. First base is kissing with tongue," Sting explained.

"Wait," Rogue interceded, his face becoming flushed. "What you said before, does that mean you would be willing to kiss me?"

Sting momentarily froze before stammering a response. "I-I was just making a joke before since we were talking about couples! I would never do anything to make you uncomfortable, Rogue!"

The dark-haired teen felt slightly disappointed by his friend's response. What he would have given for Sting to admit that he wanted to kiss him.

"I know…everyone sees me as a pervert," Sting continued. "Although, I really can't blame them by the way I act most of the time, but I would never force myself onto anyone!"

"You do it to Natsu all the time," Rogue replied quietly. Everything always came back to Natsu.

"Looking back on all that, I really shouldn't have," said Sting carefully. "And I promise you, I won't be doing that anymore."

 _Won't be doing what anymore? Shamelessly coming onto Natsu?_ Rogue really wanted to press him for more information. He wasn't entirely sure what Sting meant, but perhaps he should let it go for now. "Can you go through the other bases?" he asked, wanting to direct the conversation away from Natsu.

"Uh, sure. Um, second base is…well, it's touching the other person's, uh, private area."

"So," the dark-haired teen said slowly, "that would be like someone touching another person's penis?"

"SHH!" Sting hissed, eyes widening in surprise by Rogue's blunt conclusion. "Did you have to say that out loud?"

"Sorry."

 _How the hell is he not embarrassed saying those things?!_ _Maybe he's not so innocent after all._ "But to answer your question, yes! That's exactly what that means…pervert," he whispered harshly.

"I am not a pervert. I only wanted clarification," Rogue replied in a similar manner. "Just go on."

"I'm not sure if I should now," Sting said, crossing his arms and sulking.

"I'll shout that you're exposing yourself if you don't," Rogue threatened.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Wouldn't I?"

"Fine!" Sting growled. "Third base is oral sex. And I swear, if you ask me to explain that, I'll smack you with the menu."

"I wasn't going to ask anything like that. But I do have a related question."

Sting stifled a groan. "Go for it."

"So, when someone says they made it to second base or third base, it means they've actually done those things with someone?"

"Yes."

"Okay." _Well, that explains what Cana's always talking about._

"Can I continue?"

"Please do."

"Okay. So fourth base is also known as going all the way, meaning that people actually have…you know, sex with each other. And that's all you need to know," Sting said, trying to quickly wrap the conversation up; it was putting too many inappropriate ideas in his head.

"I see," started Rogue, gradually thinking over what Sting had told him. "Thank you for explaining. I now understand what everyone means when they approach me with these things."

"Wait a minute! Does that mean people have propositioned you?!" Sting exclaimed, face paling.

"Huh?" Rogue responded as he noticed the distressed look on Sting's face. "I didn't mean what I said like that."

"But you said people approach you with these things," he reiterated.

"Sting, since I'm such an attentive listener, people like to tell me their little…escapades," Rogue deadpanned.

"Oh."

"Yes, oh," Rogue scoffed.

"Well, that's good then," said Sting. "I don't like the idea of anyone doing those things with you." _Especially when I want to be the first and only one to do them with you._

Rogue wasn't sure whether to feel hopeful or disappointed.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Sting looked down at the table before slowly moving his hand toward Rogue's, their fingertips barely touching. Glancing back at Rogue, he paused and just stared at him.

The dark-haired teen took this as meaning Sting was asking for permission to do something—like possibly hold his hand?—or at least _touch_ him. So Rogue decided to make the move for him. Hesitantly, he placed his hand over Sting's and gave it a gentle squeeze before looking back into his eyes.

And what he saw there made his heart skip a beat.

For the first time since they'd started school at Fairy Academy, Rogue saw him happy. Truly happy. It was there in his eyes. And it made Rogue yearn to keep it there. What on earth was Sting doing to him? Did he even know how much he cared for him?

"I'm glad we're becoming close friends again," said Sting.

Rogue smiled. "Me, too."

* * *

Natsu knew he shouldn't do it, but his curiosity got the better of him. How could he not snoop around Gray's bedroom while said teen was stuck downstairs, and he basically had free roam of the house?

"Hm," hummed the pink-haired teen as he wandered aimlessly over to the closet. "Let's see what Gray's got in here."

He eagerly opened the bedroom closet only to immediately slam it shut after just a few seconds.

"Oh…my…GOD!"

* * *

 _What's taking Natsu so long?_ Gray thought to himself. His ice pack had long since melted. _I know he's invading my privacy; my poor, debauched privacy. What's Natsu going to think of me if he finds it?_

Suddenly, the sound of someone collapsing onto the couch next to him startled Gray out of his thoughts. He turned to see Natsu staring at him strangely.

"You're an otaku," said the pink-haired teen, his tone revealing nothing of his opinion on the matter. "And not just _any_ kind of otaku. A fudanshi."

Gray's face reddened in humiliation. He'd never in all his life felt as small as he did right now. "You…You looked in…my closet? How…How much did you see?"

"To be honest," replied Natsu, "the first time I opened your closet, it was just for a few seconds. I slammed it shut because I was so in shock. Once I got over it, I opened it a second time and took a closer look."

 _This is so embarrassing_ , thought Gray. _What do I say?_

"It's interesting, though," continued Natsu. "Just by looking at you, I wouldn't have pegged you as an otaku, especially a fudanshi. I didn't realize there was that much BL (Boy Love) stuff out there. I guess…you really like it, huh?"

"I…I really don't know what to say," stammered Gray. "If it freaks you out, you can leave. Just…please don't tell anyone at school."

"I'm not gonna tell anyone," said Natsu, staring at Gray. "And I never said it freaked me out, just that it's unexpected." _And maybe this means you're not against the idea of boy on boy relationships in real life. Maybe I really have a shot._

"You're okay with the fact I like that stuff?" Gray asked uneasily. He really wanted to be sure this wouldn't turn Natsu away from him.

"You like what you like. That's all there is to it."

* * *

By the time Sting and Rogue got home, it was already pretty late.

"You can go take a shower first," offered Rogue.

"Are you sure? You are the guest, after all," replied Sting, strongly believing the dark-haired teen should go first.

Rogue just shrugged. "I wanted to take a quick inventory of what I packed. Go ahead and take a shower."

Sting groaned, but gave in all the same. "If you say so," he said before heading into the bathroom.

The dark-haired teen lightly chuckled at Sting's grumbling and went into the bedroom where he'd stashed his duffel bag. Sitting on the floor, he leisurely pulled items out one at a time, taking care to mentally catalog what he did and did not have.

Rogue frowned when he realized he was going to have to buy some more clothes. He hadn't packed as many as he thought he had. All he possessed were one pair of pants, a few shirts, one school uniform, a pair of shoes, and his frog pajamas. He didn't even have a jacket.

"Shower's free," announced Sting as he entered the bedroom.

Rogue did a double take and nearly choked on his breath when he realized Sting was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. The dark-haired teen swallowed thickly when he took in the well-sculpted and toned naked torso of his friend.

"Hello," said Sting, poking Rogue in the forehead to get his attention. "I said the shower's free."

"Oh! Yes! I'm going!" The dark-haired teen quickly snapped up his frog pajamas and bolted for the bathroom.

Sting watched Rogue's hurried departure with a mix of amusement and confusion. Smiling, he opened his dresser and pulled out a pair of boxers and pajama bottoms. He didn't bother with a shirt; he got too hot at night anyway.

Debating what he should do while he waited for Rogue, he opted for laying on the bed, his right hand supporting the back of his head like a makeshift pillow. Letting out a small yawn, he thought, _I'll just close my eyes for a bit. He shouldn't be too long._

* * *

When Rogue finally reentered the bedroom, he spotted Sting sprawled out on top of the bed. Was…Was he asleep?

"Sting?" Rogue called out as he approached the bed. He was met with a loud snore in response. "Sting." His voice was firmer this time; however, his friend remained in a state of deep sleep.

Contemplating his next move, Rogue decided shaking Sting's shoulder was his best option. So he did.

Sting continued to snore.

 _Maybe if I poke him in the side?_ he thought. Rogue gently nudged Sting's side with his hand and immediately blushed. _His muscles are so firm! I…I want to touch them again. But…I really shouldn't. If he wakes up while I'm touching him, he really_ _ **will**_ _think I'm a pervert._

But his chest was just far too tempting to resist!

Hesitantly, Rogue reached forward and lightly touched one of Sting's pectoral muscles before snatching his hand away, his face burning at such a bold action.

And yet, Sting had not woken.

"You're not waking up, are you?" Rogue asked aloud. "Why must you make things so difficult? Falling asleep on top of the blankets…"

Reaching for said blankets, Rogue attempted to tug them down so that the both of them could sleep under them. But it seemed he tugged a bit too hard.

Rogue's eyes widened when Sting flipped off the bed from the force of his pulling. He hit the floor with a resounding thud.

"You can't be serious," muttered the dark-haired teen. "You're still asleep? I've half a mind to leave you there." He knew he wouldn't. Sting's hair was still slightly damp from the shower; he didn't want him to catch cold on the hardwood floor.

Sighing in exasperation, Rogue trudged over to Sting and tried lifting him from beneath his arms.

 _He weighs a ton!_ Rogue thought, stumbling as he lifted Sting toward the bed. He dropped him face first onto the mattress. Huffing, Rogue rolled him onto his back and placed his feet on the bed. Pulling the blankets up over Sting, Rogue moved to the other side of the bed and laid down, pulling the covers over himself as well before turning out the light.

He squeaked, however, when he felt Sting turn onto his side, draping an arm around his body. Rogue's heart beat rapidly when Sting pulled him flush against his chest, his gentle breath ghosting over the back of his neck.

What was he supposed to do now? Did Sting _always_ cuddle in his sleep? Should he try to wake him again?

Or should he enjoy the moment while it lasted? He deserved to be a little bit selfish, didn't he?

* * *

 **End Chapter**


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